Jessie
by Kasey22
Summary: Luke's eight-year-old niece, Jessie, comes to live with him for the summer. Rating is just a precaution. COMPLETE
1. Chapter One

Disclaimer: I don't own anything but the story idea.

A/N: I was inspired by watching Luke deal with Rory over the years and wondered what it would have been like if he had to assume the role of full-time parent for a girl. Making Jess a girl seemed like the perfect way to go. This has not been beta'ed so be gentle. I lost Jade-Tessier to computer problems. I hope she comes back to me soon, though. I miss her.

Premise: Jess Mariano never existed. Neither did Nicole. Or Jason. I'm just writing out everybody I don't like, okay? Liz sends her eight-year-old daughter, Jessie Danes, to live with Luke. Lorelai is running the Dragonfly, Rory is at Yale. Life as we know it to be, is the same.

June: Arriving and Adjusting

Chapter One

"Liz, you can't do this to me!" Luke shouted into the receiver.

Lorelai sat at the counter eavesdropping.

"But ! No, she can't! What am I gonna do with her? I don't care!"

Kirk sat down next to Lorelai and asked, "What's going on?"

"Dunno," she answered conspiratorially. "The phone rang and all of a sudden, fireworks."

"Fine!" Luke finally snapped. "Have it your way. It's not like you've ever done the right thing _before_. When'll you be here?" More silence and then, "What? You mean you're not even coming? You're just gonna to thow her on a bus? That's great, Liz, just great. What time? Fine. I'll be there," he finished grimly before slamming the phone back into its cradle.

"What was that all about?" inquired Lorelai.

"My sister is once again up for the award of Most Irresponsible Parent," he barked in reply.

"Why?"

"Get this," he scowled. "I've seen my niece Jessie maybe three times since she was born and now, all of a sudden, Liz calls to say she needs me to take her for the summer. Can you believe that? The whole summer!"

"Wow," gaped Lorelai. "How old is she?"

"She's eight," he said with a deep sigh. "What am I going to do with an eight-year-old kid?"

"Take her to the mall, get a makeover, nails done – " began Lorelai.

"I didn't ask," interrupted Luke, "what _you_ would do with an eight-year-old kid. I mean, is this the most ridiculous thing you've ever heard of?"

"Weapons of Mass Destruction is in the top ten, so you've got some stiff competition," she replied with a straight face.

"Never mind," he sighed again, feeling defeated.

"When does she get here?"

"Apparently Liz just put her on the bus. She knew I couldn't say no if Jessie was already on her way. And listen to this!" he demanded getting worked up again. "She put her on the bus alone! An eight-year-old kid alone on a bus from New York to here! Anything could happen to her!"

Lorelai raised her hands up and said, "Calm down, it'll be okay."

"It _won't_ be okay. I've got get upstairs, clean it up, figure out a place for her to sleep…this is a nightmare," he muttered as he walked away, distracted and completely pissed off. His summer was ruined.

By the time Luke was supposed to pick Jessie up from the bus stop, he'd worked off all of his anger and was resigned. The figure he saw stepping off the bus, however, created a rage inside of him that he scarcely knew was there.

At age eight, Jessica Danes stood about four feet tall. Her hair was tied back into a messy, low ponytail that curled at the ends and she wore worn sneakers, denim overalls, a pink tank top, with a plaid shirt knotted around her waist, a backwards baseball cap on her head and a knapsack slung over one shoulder. She was small. Smaller than he'd expected, although, if asked, he couldn't have said what he'd expected. Her hair was dark and her eyes were brown.

With narrowed eyes, Luke stood with his arms folded across his chest, scowling at her. "Jessie?"

"Yeah," she confirmed uncertainly. She'd met her uncle a few times and he'd always seemed upset. She knew it usually had something to do with her mother, but still. He didn't look like he'd be the most fun.

"Did your mother dress you this morning?" he demanded.

"I dress myself," she answered warily. Then, feeling that a test was in order, she repeated a phrase she'd heard her mother's boyfriend use recently. "What crawled up your ass and died?"

Sputtering, Luke's face went from white to red in a matter of seconds before he was able to spit, "Young lady, that is _no _way to speak to someone!"

Jessie blinked and said with a soft giggle, "Okay." It hadn't been the response she'd imagined. Her mother's boyfriends usually either ignored her or pushed her around. "Okay, sorry," she repeated with a nod, hoping he'd stop his stern looming over her slim form.

"Okay," he replied and his frame relaxed a little. "I'm Luke, in case you didn't know."

"She said you'd be here," Jessie nodded, glancing nervously around.

"Well, she was right," he said definitively. "I'm here."

They stood for a moment regarding each other awkwardly. When Jessie shifted her bag on her shoulder Luke pounced on it. "Here, let me take that for you. Is this all you have?" he wondered aloud at her light bag. He started walking toward the diner, she trying to match his long strides.

"Uh huh," she said, eyes darting around, taking in the town. "It's just the week, right?"

Luke stopped walking. Jessie looked up at him. He met her eyes and she knew.

Her chin dropped to her chest as she stuffed her hands into the pockets of her overalls and she began to drag her feet along the sidewalk, making sure that the toes of her sneakers made a nice long scraping sound with each step.

"So how long are you stuck with me," she mumbled, eyes down.

Luke felt terrible. Thanks a bunch, Liz, he thought to himself. With a deep sigh, Luke replied, "We're stuck with each other for the summer."

Jessie nodded her head glumly and wished she were back in New York. At least she knew what to expect in New York.

They walked the rest of the way back to the diner slowly and in silence, Jessie dragging her feet the entire way. Luke held open the front door for her and she trudged inside.

It was mid-afternoon and the diner was fairly empty. There was a table full of tourists near one of the windows that Caesar was taking care of and that was it. Luke led Jessie over to the counter and she climbed up onto one of the stools.

"My mom says you own this place," Jessie observed as she watched Luke move to the other side of the counter and put her bag behind it.

"Yup," he answered as he began to busy himself with preparation for the dinner rush. "Have you eaten yet?"

"Breakfast," she offered.

He slapped a menu down in front of her. "Pick something. I'll be right back."

As Jessie studied the menu, Luke grabbed the phone off the wall and stretched the cord into the kitchen where Caesar was cleaning the stove. Dialing the familiar numbers, Luke glanced briefly over his shoulder to make sure that his new roommate was still perched on her seat. She was.

"Dragonfly Inn, this is Lorelai, can I help you?"

"Lorelai! It's me!" he whispered wildly.

"You'll have to be more specific," she demanded playfully.

"Luke! It's Luke," he clarified, still in whispers.

"Why so clandestine?"

"Liz lied."

"Sorry?"

"Lied! She lied to me, she lied to her kid and now I gotta deal with it. Can you believe this?"

The swinging door opened just then and in walked Jessie with a smile. "I know what I want," she said solemnly.

"Okay, go sit down and I'll be right out and you can tell me," Luke said, frantic to be away from her for a second.

Jessie stood for a minute staring at him and then left.

Luke realized that Lorelai had been talking this whole time. "Sorry, Lorelai, I gotta go, okay? I see you later." And without waiting for an answer, Luke hung up.

Wanting to act like all was right with the world, he left the kitchen wearing a smile. He hung up the phone and went to where Jessie was again seated at the end of the counter.

"Know what you want?"

With a frown she peered up at him and answered, "Was that your girlfriend?"

"That? No, I don't have a girlfriend," Luke replied breathlessly, terrified of what she might ask next.

"Oh." Her arms were crossed in front of her with her elbows on the counter.

"Do you know what you want?" he asked again.

"Fries," Jessie said decisively.

"That's it?" he asked with one raised eyebrow.

"Yup."

"You've gotta eat better than that," Luke declared.

"Mom only gave me five dollars," she admitted, a little embarrassed.

Softening, he assured her, "When you're here, you don't have to pay for food, Jess, okay? I want you to feel like it's your home. Eat what you want, as long as you're getting all your fruits and veggies."

Jessie fidgeted with her ball cap and said with half a smile, "Okay."

"What do you usually eat?"

Warming to the topic she replied with an enthusiastic nod, "Pizza, macaroni and cheese, fast food, burgers…."

Luke cringed. Why did every woman in his life insist on eating herself into an early grave? "Well, that stops now. While you're here you'll eat healthy, now pick a sandwich to have with your fries."

"Grilled cheese?" she said hopefully.

"That's a little bit more grease-laden than I'd prefer, but since it's your first day, I'll let it slide," he winked.

Jessie smiled. He left to fix her food.

Just as Luke was sliding the grilled cheese off his spatula and onto a plate already laden with fries, he heard a shriek from out front. Dashing through the swinging doors, plate in hand, he stopped dead in his tracks to see Jessie standing on her stool poised to punch Kirk in the face. "Take it back!" she screamed at him.

"Luke, call her off!"

Luke threw the plate onto the counter ran to stand between the two just as Jessie swung. Luke had the presence of mind to duck. Kirk did not.

Recovering quickly from the duck, Luke picked Jessie up from the stool with his hands under her armpits so that they were eye-to-eye. "It is never acceptable to hit someone else," he scolded.

Kirk lay on the ground whimpering and holding his shoulder, which she had hit as a result of bad aim and height difference. "I may sue," he threatened.

"Kirk, get up," Luke admonished as he sat Jessie back down on her butt.

Kirk arose. "She started it!" he pointed.

"Did not," Jessie snarled.

"Did too."

"Not!"

"Too!"

"Enough!" shouted Luke. Then in a calmer voice, "What happened?"

Jessie stared at the toes of her shoes. "Jess?"

She heaved a sigh so as to express the ultimate futility of her telling him anything. Luke tried not to chuckle. "I was sitting here waiting for you to come back and _he_ came in."

"And?" Luke prompted, hands on hips.

"All I did was ask about Liz!" Kirk insisted. "She said she was visiting and I asked if her mom had come with her to visit."

"You _said_ you couldn't believe she didn't come," Jessie spoke up. "And _then_ you said that I was probably going to live here _forever_!" she shouted beginning to get worked up again.

"All I did was ask! Luke, don't let her hit me again!" Kirk ducked behind Luke's back.

"Okay, okay, stop, both of you!" Luke cried. "Kirk, get out. Jess, turn around and eat."

"But I…I'm hungry," Kirk pleaded. "Can I stay if I order something?"

"No! Out!"

"Fine," Kirk huffed. "But don't come crying to me when your little clone alienates the rest of your customers!" Jessie jumped off her stool and would have tackled Kirk if Luke hadn't held her back.

"Okay, Rocky, dial it down a notch, wouldja?" Luke lifted her back up onto her stool and spun it around to that she was facing her plate of food.

She stared at it glumly and kicked her feet against the counter. "Do you think I'll be here forever?"

Luke sat on the stool next to her and said, "No. But you're welcome to stay for as long as you want."

Jessie studied his face for a second and then picked up her sandwich and took a bite. It was good and she hadn't eaten anything since that morning.

Luke watched as she inhaled the sandwich and shook his head. The kid was probably bordering on malnutrition. Thanks a lot, Liz, he thought to himself. The phrase was becoming a mantra.

"You want anything to drink?"

"Can I have a coke?"

"You can have a coke if you drink a glass of milk first. Deal?"

Jessie grimaced dramatically but nodded and said, "Fine."

Luke smiled and got up to get her the milk.

After she'd finished her grilled cheese and annihilated her fries (consuming half a bottle ketchup in the process), Jessie drained her glass of milk and said, "Now can I have a coke?"

"Sure," Luke said as he filled a glass with ice and then brought it to the fountain to fill. Business had picked up in the last forty-five minutes or so and he knew that in an hour it'd be really packed. Caesar was working the kitchen and he was glad that Lane was scheduled to work that night.

He set the glass down in front of her and watched as she carefully took a straw, unwrapped it, pulled the scrunched up section out and over, and inserted into the glass.

Jessie took several big gulps before pulling back to sigh dramatically with her head tossed back. "I'm full," she groaned.

"You ate everything on your plate, so I would imagine that you must be," Luke commented with a small smile. Maybe she wouldn't be so bad to have around.

"This place is boring," she noted matter-of-factly as she raised her head up and looked around.

"Boring?" asked Luke, insulted. "Whaddaya mean, _boring_?"

"I mean _boring_. Bo-_ring_," she emphasized each syllable with a nod of her head, her brown eyes wide and her eyebrows raised in punctuation.

Luke rolled his eyes and said, "Sorry to disappoint you, Princess." She scowled at him.

"Would you care to see your quarters now?"

She cracked a smile and said haughtily, "Very well."

"This way," Luke replied as he led up behind the curtain and upstairs.

"You live upstairs?" she scoffed.

"Yup."

"Why?"

"Why not?"

"Because…I don't know, just why?" Jessie replied, stumped.

"It's free, it's nice and I like it, that's why," he said defensively as he opened the door.

Jessie followed Luke into the main room and looked around. "It's small," she noted dubiously.

"If you think this is small, wait'll you see your room," cracked Luke. He led her to a door that used to lead to a walk in storage space. He'd been in the process of finishing it and turning it into a walk-in closet. For now, it would give his guest a spot of her own. He opened the door and turned on the light.

"A closet?" she asked incredulously. "I have to sleep in a _closet_?"

"There's a bed and a dresser and even a nightstand here, you can barely even tell it used to be for storage."

"There aren't any windows," she said pointedly

Luke shrugged and said, "Well, it's the best I got on short notice."

Jessie sighed and threw her bag on the bed. At least he was trying, she noted as she took in the pretty quilt on the bed. The boyfriends never tried.

"Let me show you the rest of the place," offered Luke as he stepped out of the room and allowed Jessie to follow him. "Here we have the kitchen area," he gestured to the small kitchenette, "and the living room area," he swung his arms toward the opposite end of the apartment and the couch and TV, "and my area," he pointed in still another direction and saw his own bed and dresser. "The bathroom is there," he pointed, "and that about covers the tour."

Jessie nodded and fidgeted with her cap again. "Okay."

"I have to go back downstairs and work, but if you want you can hang out up here and watch TV or whatever. Or, you can come back downstairs. It's up to you," Luke said.

"I think I'll come back downstairs," Jessie answered with a nod. She had her eye on some dessert.


	2. Chapter Two

Disclaimer:  I don't own anything but the story idea.

A/N:  Chapter One for full premise.  To sum up, this is an AU (Alternate Universe) in which Jess Mariano never existed.  In his place, Jessie Danes, daughter of Liz, has come to live with her Uncle Luke for the summer.  This is still not beta'ed to be gentle.  I am very pleased that so far people are enjoying this.  Reviews are always welcome, no matter how short or long.  Also, I don't have a lot of experience with eight-year-olds, so I'm basing Jessie on my own memories and what I've seen from kids about that age.  If you have any suggestions, or you think she's not acting the way an eight-year-old would act, please tell me.

June:  Arriving and Adjusting

Chapter Two

~~

Jessie sat on her stool at the end of the counter sipping her coke and watching the busy diner.  Luke was all over the place, taking orders, delivering food, and busing tables.  At five, the bell on the door sounded and a small Asian girl came in.  The girl crossed the small space, called a hello to Luke and headed behind the counter and through the swinging doors.  When she re-emerged, she was wearing an apron and she had an order pad in her hand.

"Lane," Luke said as he approached her.  "I want you to meet someone."  He led the girl over to where Jessie sat with her coke and said, "This is my niece, Jessie.  She's going to be staying with me for a little while.  Jessie, this is Lane.  She works here."

"Nice to meet you, Jessie," said Lane with a smile.  She held out her hand and Jessie shook it and looked bashful.  She wasn't used to being introduced to anyone let alone shaking hands.

"Nice to meet you, too," she replied.

"The rules are that Jess can have anything she wants as long as it's healthy," Luke instructed.

"Got it," replied Lane with a firm nod.

"Or cake," added Jessie with an enthusiastic nod of her own and a silly smile.

"Nice try," Luke said with a roll of his eyes.  "No cake.  No pie.  No ice cream.  No candy."

"What is this Soviet Russia?" came a voice from behind Luke's back.

Luke and Lane turned, allowing for Jessie to take in the view of a woman.  She was tall with dark hair and blue eyes.  How Jessie had always wanted blue eyes.  Instead she was stuck with brown.  Plain old brown.  She sighed.  

"Lorelai.  Just in time. I'd like you to meet Jessie," Luke said as he held up a hand and gestured to the little figure perched on her stool.  Lorelai took in the overalls, plaid shirt still knotted about her waist, and backwards baseball cap before turning to Luke and declaring, "Kirk was right, you _do_ have a clone."

Luke ignored her and said, "Jessie, this is Lorelai.  She comes in a lot for coffee.  Lorelai, this is Jessie.  She's going to be staying here for the summer."

"It's nice to meet you, Jessie," said Lorelai as she approached the counter and sat beside her.  Lane left to begin work and Luke walked around the counter to pour Lorelai some coffee.

"How do you like it so far?"

"She says it's _boring_," complained Luke teasingly.

"Well, compared to New York, Stars Hollow must seem pretty slow-paced," reasoned Lorelai.

Jessie nodded and asked, "Where do you live?"

"Me?  I live in my house."

"Are you married?" Her tone suggested that she was trying for breezy sophistication, like the ladies in the soap operas her mother watched.

"Uh, nope.  Not married," answered Lorelai with a smile.

"Jess," warned Luke.

"Boyfriend?" Jessie interrogated.

"Not at the moment," dodged Lorelai.

"Okay," Jessie relented and took a sip of her coke.

Lorelai chuckled and Luke shook his head.  "What can I get you?"

Lorelai pretended to think about it and then answered, "I'll have a piece of that chocolate cake there, a slice of cherry pie and a slice of apple, both a la mode, and you wouldn't happen to have any candy behind the counter would you?"

Luke glared daggers at her.  "Lorelai," he began.

"Chop, chop," she ordered.  Jessie giggled as Luke left to prepare Lorelai's order.

"I think you'll like it here.  It's not has hot and humid as New York in the summer, there's lots to do and Luke's a good guy."

Jessie just nodded and took another sip of her coke.

Luke returned with her order and as soon as he walked away, Lorelai pushed the plates toward Jessie and said, "You wanna share this with me?"

"Yeah!" Jessie answered with a grin.

They each took huge forkfuls and giggled at trying to chew it all.  Jessie had never met a grown up quite like Lorelai before.  

"So," said Lorelai seriously, "what do you want to be when you grow up?"

"That's easy," replied Jessie, who'd been imagining her grown up life for as long as she could remember.  "Either a ballerina," Lorelai nodded and interjected, "Always a good choice."

"Or a cowboy," Jessie finished.

"A ballerina or a cowboy?" Lorelai blinked.

"Yup," Jessie nodded decisively, shoveling another forkful of pie and ice cream into her mouth.

"I don't think you could have chosen two more diametrically opposed career options," Lorelai noted with a furrowed brow.

"Dia-what?"  Jessie asked impatiently.

"Nothing," said Lorelai, shrugging it off.  "So, ballerina or cowboy."

Jessie nodded.

"Do you ride?"

"Nah," Jessie shook her head glumly.  "No horses in the city."

"My inn has horses, so you can always give it a try if you want."

"Really?" her eyes swelled with delight.  "You mean it?"

"Sure," replied Lorelai with a wave of her hand.  "And there's a dance studio in town, too.  You could probably take ballet lessons if you wanted."

"Wow," breathed Jessie, for the first time fully understanding what this trip could mean.  A chance to try new things.  

Luke arrived in time to hear this last bit and see Jessie eat the last bite of apple pie.

"Wow what and what are you doing?" he demanded.

Lorelai had the grace to look guilty.  "Jessie was just telling me about some of her career goals," she answered with faux innocence.

"You fed her pie," he accused.

"She…tricked me!" Lorelai sputtered.  "She used her Jedi mind tricks!  I'm no match for her!"

Jessie interrupted earnestly, "She has _horses_! And there's _ballet_ here, did you know that?  Maybe I could take lessons!"

"What have you done to me?" Luke deadpanned to Lorelai.

~~

By about nine o'clock, the crowd had dissipated and Luke walked through the swing doors to Jessie's spot at the counter and said, "Okay, kiddo, let's get you upstairs."

"Why?" she asked, baffled.

"It's nine o'clock, that's why.  Bedtime," he explained patiently.

"My bedtime isn't for _hours_," Jessie argued.

"Maybe in New York it's not for hours, but in Connecticut, you have to keep the hours that an eight-year-old would keep.  Now, come on," he ordered, lifting her off the stool and nudging her toward the stairs.  

"But why do I have to go _now_?" she whined.  "Why can't I have another half an _hour_?"

"Because in another half and _hour_," Luke mimicked, "it'll be nine _thirty_ and when I was eight my bedtime was _nine_."

"This _sucks_," she huffed up the stairs.

"Hey, language," he admonished.

"I don't care!  You're not the boss of me!  No one is the boss of me," she sassed.

They entered the apartment and Luke shook his head as he replied, "As long as you live here I _am_ the boss of you.  That's what being the adult is all about."

Jessie crossed her arms over her chest and said, "Humph."

Caesar and Lane were closing downstairs and Luke was glad.  This was clearly going to take longer than he'd anticipated.

"All right look," he said, "how 'bout this.  You get ready for bed now, and I let you watch TV for a half hour.  Does that sound fair?"

Jessie made a show of putting her hands on her hips and cocking her head so that she could gaze at the ceiling as if considering his offer.  "Fine," she finally said before turning to go into her closet of a bedroom.  

Out in the living room, Luke couldn't believe he was already making concessions.  His father would never have considered giving him another half an hour.  Bedtime was bedtime, end of story.  But, he reasoned, she'd had a hard day.  Her mother had sent her packing for three months and didn't even tell her.  She needed a little TLC right now.  

She opened her door and emerged wearing pink and yellow plaid flannel pajama pants with a matching pink cotton long-sleeved pajama top.  Her hat was gone, but her hair was still back in a ponytail and was matted down from dirt and travel.  In her hand she carried a Tinkerbell toothbrush.  

"Bathroom's…" he trailed off pointing her in the direction.  She didn't answer, just closed the door behind her.

When she was done in the bathroom and she'd put her toothbrush in the holder on the sink next to his, she turned the light off and came back out into the living room area.  They stood across from each other and again, an awkward silence stretched.  

"You said I could watch TV," she reminded him a little timidly, feeling a little silly in her pink pajamas.

"Right," he said, catching himself.  "Sorry.  Come on."  Luke led her to the couch where they sat at opposite ends.  He propped his feet up on the coffee table and she curled up with her feet underneath her.  He pulled the afghan down from the back and draped it over her, then handed her the remote.  "Go for it."

Jessie took it eagerly and started flipping.  After a minute she found the Cartoon Network and was immediately consumed with Blossom, Buttercup and Bubbles.

"Yay," she said as she clapped her hands together softly. "Don't you just love the Powerpuff Girls?"

"Oh, yeah, they're great," he answered easily, having no idea who Jessie was referring to.

"Why don't you have a girlfriend?"  The way she shifted from one topic to another was jarring.

Luke tried to avoid her gaze.  "I dunno, I just don't."

"Don't you like anyone?"  She shifted down so that her head was resting against the arm of the couch.

Shrugging and feeling completely self-conscious, he answered simply, "No."

Jessie stared at him hard.  "Really?  Not _anyone_?" she pressed.

"Nope," he said firmly, hoping she believed him.

"I used to like this boy at school.  His name was Mark.  But he liked my friend," she confided.

"Sorry," Luke answered, hoping it was the appropriate response.

"That's okay.  Mommy has lots of boyfriends."

"Oh, yeah?"  This wasn't news, but it also wasn't something he felt like discussing with an eight-year-old.

"Yeah.  I think that's why I'm here.  Jerry didn't like me being around."  She said it so matter-of-factly that Luke had trouble keeping his tone light when he responded,  "That's her boyfriend?  Jerry?"  

"Yeah," she answered, one eye on the crime-fighting trio.  Luke studied her profile as she said, "I heard them talking."

"What about?"

"About my dad and why couldn't he take me for a while.  Did you know my dad?"  With this last question, she turned her eyes back to his.

"Yeah."  It wasn't a lie.

"Do you know where he is?"

"No," Luke said softly.

Jessie went back to staring at the TV.  "Me either.  The Powerpuff Girls are tough and you gotta be tough.  Jerry says that women who try to be tough are bitches," she said it as if she were reciting something she'd heard someone say many times.  He didn't doubt that she probably had.

"I think that word should be reserved for extreme cases," he said, trying to keep control of his anger.

"Jerry uses it a lot.  He says most women are bitches who are out to get men and money.  Do you think that?" she asked with a scrutinizing look.

"No," he said decisively.

Less than thirty minutes later, Luke looked over and saw that she was asleep.  After clicking the TV off, he got up and carried her into her room.  Tucked into bed the way she was, Jessie looked very calm and peaceful, almost angelic.  Really, he thought, this might not be so bad at all.  She was a good kid.

~~

Sometime in the middle of the night, Luke awoke to a gentle poking at his shoulder.  He reluctantly opened an eye and in the dim moonlight saw a pale face framed by a dark cloud of tangled hair.

"What's wrong," he asked groggily.

"It's scary in my room," she whispered with wide eyes.  "Can I sleep with you?"

"Your room's not scary," Luke argued wearily.  "There isn't even a closet for the boogie man to hide in."

Her eyes widened even more as she physically flinched at his words.  "Please," she begged softly.  "I don't like it."

"Okay, fine," he said in defeat, sliding over and pulling the covers back.

Jessie bounded into the bed and pulled the quilt up to her ears.  "Thank you," she whispered.  A few minutes later, Luke heard her breathing turn deep and soft.  She was asleep.  Feeling cramped, he decided maybe he should finally get that big bed Lorelai had been teasing him about.  Lord knows if there were going to be more nights like this in his future he'd need it.

~~

The next morning started like any other.  Luke's alarm clock rang at ten to five and he rolled out of bed still half-asleep.  Jessie was lying curled into a tight ball.  After making sure that she was still asleep, he stumbled toward the bathroom.

Re-emerging after a shower, he walked to his dresser wearing the bathrobe that had been hanging on the back of the bathroom door for years.  He finally had a reason to use it.

Gathering up clothes for the day, he headed back to the bathroom to change.  When he came out a second time he was finally feeling awake.  Finishing with the buttons of his flannel shirt, he added his blue backwards baseball cap, and grabbed a piece of scratch paper.  On it he wrote:  "Jess, I put out a fresh towel in the bathroom for you.  Help yourself to the shower, etc.  Come downstairs for breakfast when you're up.  Luke."

Confident that she'd be fine, he tucked the blankets more securely around her and left the apartment.  

Less than an hour later, just as the morning rush was beginning, Luke heard the door upstairs slam and then a sharp scream.  Throwing the armload of plates onto the counter, he raced upstairs to find Jessie standing in the middle of the hallway still in her pink pajamas.  She stopped screaming when she saw him, but the tears were just beginning to roll.

"What the matter?" Luke asked, a catch in his voice.  He bent down and took one slight shoulder in each hand.

"You were gone!" she accused with a sob.

"I was downstairs," he said reasonably.  "Did you get the note?"

"No!" she reproached.  "I woke up and you were gone!"

Kneeling down, Luke pulled her into a gruff hug.  She gripped his neck tight until he pulled back and said, "It's fine, okay?  I'm downstairs working."  Rubbing her back, he stood up and led her into the apartment.  At the table he showed her the note.  "See?  I didn't want to wake you up."

She was starting to breathe normally again, and feeling a little sheepish.  Nodding she said, "Oh."

"Go get dressed and come down for breakfast," Luke said with one last pat of her back.

Nodding and finally calm, Jessie agreed.  "Okay.  Sorry."

"That's okay," he said.  Then, with his hand on the doorknob he looked at her firmly and said,  "I'm not going anywhere."

"Okay," she said again with a small smile.


	3. Chapter Three

Disclaimer:  I don't own anything but the story idea.

A/N:  See Chapter One for full premise.  To sum up, this is an AU (Alternate Universe) in which Jess Mariano never existed.  In his place, Jessie Danes, daughter of Liz, has come to live with her Uncle Luke for the summer.  This is still not beta'ed to be gentle.  I am very pleased that so far people are enjoying this.  Reviews are always welcome, no matter how short or long.  

June:  Arriving and Adjusting

Chapter Three

~~

Jessie hopped up onto the stool at the counter a few minutes later looking much the same as she had yesterday.  Her overalls, knotted plaid shirt and hat were the same, the only thing she'd changed was that color of her tank top underneath, which was now purple.  Her hair was even pulled back into another messy ponytail.

"You didn't take a shower?" Luke inquired conversationally.

"I don't take _showers_," Jessie replied as if speaking to a child.  "I take _baths_."

"Luke, coffee!" Lorelai handily interrupted them.

"Well, I don't have a bathtub," Luke countered as he filled Lorelai's mug.  "And you need to bathe."

"Hi, Jessie," sang Lorelai in a good mood.

"Hey, Lorelai," replied Jessie with a smile, easily ignoring her uncle.

"Lorelai, tell her she needs to bathe," ordered Luke.

"Jessie you need to bathe," Lorelai repeated.

"But Mommy always gives me a bath," glowered Jessie.

"Showers are fun," Lorelai reasoned, noting the look of frustration on Luke's face.

"Fun?" asked Jessie dubiously.

"Yeah, fun.  You can sing in the shower."

"I don't sing."

"What if one day you're a famous ballerina and they need you to sing.  Are you going to turn them down because you've never sung before?  You should get some practice in."

"Ballerinas don't sing," Jessie scoffed.

"Okay, you got me there, but Luke's right.  You look like you could use a little freshening up.  My daughter Rory was about your age when she switched from baths to showers.  You might like it."

"You have a daughter?" Jessie asked skeptically.

"Yup."

"How old is she?"

"She's nineteen."

"Wow, that's old," Jessie noted with amazement. 

"So what does that make us?" Luke probed with a wrinkled brow.

"_Really_ old."

"Oh, snap!  That was harsh, but I guess we walked into it, huh?" Lorelai laughed.

Jessie giggled.

"Very nice," said Luke, rolling his eyes.  "You're having a shower before bed tonight, young lady.  Now, what do you want for breakfast?"

"French toast."

"Cornflakes?" Luke confirmed.  "An excellent choice.  Coming right up."

"Can I have French toast if I eat all my cereal?" Jessie pouted.

"It's a deal. And for you?" he asked Lorelai.

"Just coffee for now."

Luke left to get more coffee.

"Can I come see the horses today?" Jessie asked when he was gone.

"Sure," Lorelai nodded. "I'm on my way there right after this, so you can come with me as long as it's okay with Luke."

After eating her bowl of cornflakes and half an order of French toast, Jessie got Luke's permission, and headed off to the Dragonfly, pulling Lorelai by hand behind her.

Eight hours later, Lorelai dragged a stumbling Jessie back to the diner.  If she was just dirty before, she was absolutely filthy now.  And she smelled like horse.

The diner was crowded, but with both Lane and Caesar working, Luke wasn't as crazy busy as he usually was.  He saw them coming and met them at the door.  

"Hey," he said with a smile as they entered.

"Luke," Lorelai whined.  "We are a couple of girls who need some fuel.  Lead us to the coffee."

Lorelai trudged to the counter and Jessie sagged along beside her.  

"Did you have fun?" he asked a she poured Lorelai a coffee and Jessie a soda.

"It was so much fun," Jessie said with a yawn.  "I got to ride all day."  She dropped her chin into her hand and sipped slowly on the drink.

Luke's lips twitched as he tried to hold in a smile and said, "You must be exhausted."

Lorelai hit him with a full-on grin as she whispered, "She is."

"You want some dinner?"

Jessie shrugged, hardly able to keep her eyes open as she sucked down more of her soda.  

"Well, you definitely need a shower.  Why don't you have something to eat, get cleaned up and then sack out on the couch upstairs for a while?"

"Okay," Jessie said, finally bringing her chin up off her palm.  Her brown eyes were heavily lidded and he hoped she wouldn't fall asleep on the counter.

Luke went to the kitchen and got the plate he'd been saving for Jessie from the warmer and placed in front of her.  "Here you go.  Dinner."  Jessie looked at the plate and saw pot roast, mashed potatoes, green beans, gravy and a dinner roll. 

Without even a hint of a complaint, Jessie picked up her fork.  She was starving and didn't have the energy to complain about the food.

"Hey!  You didn't even ask if I wanted any!" Lorelai sulked.

"I didn't want to assume," he replied defensively.

Well, serve it up, Chef Puck, _both_ your girls are hungry!"

Luke tried to pretend that she hadn't just referred to herself as one of "his girls".  He simply went to the kitchen and got a plate ready for Lorelai, too.

When they had finished eating, Jessie looked even more exhausted.  Just as she was about to lay her head on the counter, Luke came around the counter and lifted her up.  

"Come on, Jess, time for some R&R," he said softly.

She slung her arms over his shoulders and let them hang there as her feet did the same around his waist.  "Can I watch TV again after my shower?" she mumbled into his plaid shoulder.

"Sure," he promised, as he nodded goodnight to Lorelai who seemed to be looking at him strangely.  He had to be mistaken, but she almost looked…wistful.

Brushing it off, Luke carried Jessie upstairs and into the bathroom.  He set her down on the closed toilet seat and turned the shower on so that it was warm.  "I'll go get your pajamas ready.  You get undressed and into the shower.  Use the soap _and_ the shampoo, okay?"

Jessie nodded and stood up as he left the small room.  In her little closet area, he found her pajamas and noticed that she really _didn't_ have much with her.  He'd have to call Liz tomorrow and have her send more clothes.  

Knocking on the door, he waited for her to answer before he entered, put her clean pjs on the toilet seat and set out a fresh towel.

In the kitchen he began to make some microwave popcorn.  As the kernels started popping, he heard the water in the bathroom turn off and after a few minutes, Jessie emerged in her pink and yellow jammies.  The shower had given her a second wind as she bounded over to the couch and turned the tv on.  Immediately finding the Cartoon Network she snuggled deep into the cushions and found the throw she'd been using the night before.  Luke joined her a moment later with a bowl full of popcorn.  She scooted closer to him and helped herself.

"So you had fun today?" Luke asked.

Nodding, she said, "Yeah, it was great.  I got to ride Cletus and we walked and then we trotted and they even let me lope a little bit.  Then we had lunch and I met Sookie and Jackson and Davey and then I got to ride Cletus again.  I like Lorelai."

"Yeah, she's great," he agreed.

"She likes you a lot," Jessie commented still watching tv.

"Well, she's my friend," Luke answered trying to quell the urge to make her recount every word uttered by Lorelai that day.

Stuffing a handful of popcorn into her mouth, Jessie crunch happily as she concentrated on the Powerpuff Girls.  

"What did you do with your dirty clothes?" Luke asked after a while, the thought just occurring to him.

"They're in the bathroom."

"In the hamper?" he hoped.

"On the floor," she corrected absently.

"Well, that's not where they go, now, is it?"

With a tremendous eye-roll, Jessie pulled her gaze from the television screen to her uncle's stoic features.  "I don't know," she replied with a straight face.

"Yes you do."

"You never told me."

"If there's a hamper available, common sense should tell you that you always use it."

"I'm eight!" she argued stubbornly.  "I don't have common sense yet!"

"If you're able to use an argument like that, then you _do_ have common sense, you just choose to ignore it," he pointed out.

"Humph!" she replied and pushed more popcorn into her mouth.  Her dark hair was starting to dry and it was getting all curly.  He slung an elbow over the back of the couch and dropped his hand on her head to get her attention.

"Jessie," he said.

"What," she pouted.

"As long as you live here you have to pick up after yourself," he admonished quietly.

"Fine," she replied with a huge sigh.  

"Good.  And tomorrow when you wake up, I'll be downstairs again, okay?"

"Okay," she replied with a bit more sleepiness than before.

She leaned into his side and fed herself another handful of popcorn.

After a few minutes he looked down and she was asleep.  He put the bowl of popcorn on the coffee table and carried her into her room.

After calling downstairs to make sure everything was all right, he turned the station to ESPN, watched for a few hours, beer in hand, and then went to bed.

He was only a little surprised when something poked his shoulder in the middle of the night.  He opened his eyes and sure enough, Jessie was standing there with wide eyes and messy hair.  

"What's wrong?"

"Can I sleep with you?  My room is scary."

"It's not scary –" he began.

"Please!" she begged.

"Fine," he relented and she scrambled into bed with him.

He really needed to establish some boundaries, he told himself as he dropped off again.


	4. Chapter Four

Disclaimer:  I don't own anything but the story idea.

A/N:  See Chapter One for full premise.  To sum up, this is an AU (Alternate Universe) in which Jess Mariano never existed.  In his place, Jessie Danes, daughter of Liz, has come to live with her Uncle Luke for the summer.  This is still not beta'ed to be gentle.  I am very pleased that so far people are enjoying this.  Reviews are always welcome, no matter how short or long.  This is the last of what I had written before I started posting so from now on the updates will be a little slower, but I've got an outline with several things on the agenda.  If there's anything you'd like to see, or any aspect of their relationship you'd want to see explored, all you have to do is ask.

June:  Arriving and Adjusting

Chapter Four

~~

Some days later, things had not changed.  Every night Jessie fell asleep on the couch with Luke while they watched Cartoon Network.  Every night he put her to bed, and every night she woke him up from a dead sleep so that she could join him in his cramped single bed.  

When he'd called Liz to get more clothes for her, he'd broached the subject carefully.

"Does Jessie ever like to sleep with you?" Luke asked.

"Sleep with me?" Liz repeated, confused.

"You know, like wake you up in the middle of the night to climb in bed with you," he clarified.

"No, but to be honest, I'm not usually alone to begin with, if you know what I mean," Liz cackled softly.

"I don't want to hear this," he sighed.

"Well, what was I supposed to do?" demanded his sister.  "Give up my social life just because I was unlucky enough to get knocked up?"

Disgusted, Luke tried to keep his voice even as he replied, "Actually, yeah, that's exactly what most mothers do."

"Whatever," she sneered.  "That's not for me."

"No kidding," Luke commented, sarcasm thick in his voice.

"What's she been up do?" Liz asked, not catching the sarcasm and not really interested in the answer.  Luke could hear pages turning in the background and he suspected that she was flipping though some magazine.

"You know," he said, fumbling for words, "kid stuff.  A friend of mine has a couple of horses and she's been riding.  She wants to take ballet lessons from the local dance teacher, so that's something we might do, too."

"Luke," Liz sputtered, suddenly impatiently, "I can't pay for dance lessons!  Just put her in front of the TV, she'll be fine."

"Don't worry about it, okay?" he answered, exasperated.  "I'll pay for 'em.  Just send her more clothes.  I can't believe you let her come here for the summer with just that little backpack."

"Well, she would have suspected otherwise," Liz duh'ed

"Yeah, and that's another thing," he felt himself working himself up into a full rant.  "I can't believe you _lied_ to her!" 

"Oh, kids are resilient," she scoffed.  "She probably won't even remember by the end of the summer."

Luke shook his head at the memory.  Same old Liz.  The clothes had come, but not before they'd had to start borrowing Rory's old hand-me-downs.  Luke hated asking anything from anyone, but the kid needed to be dressed.  And if she was going to be riding horses, she needed more denim than just those overalls.  He couldn't believe how quickly Lorelai and Jessie had taken to each other.  It had almost become routine.  Jessie woke up, got dressed and came downstairs for breakfast at about the same time Lorelai would come in for breakfast.  They ate together and then left together for the Dragonfly.  Jessie would ride for much of the day under the supervision of the inn's trainer and then Lorelai would bring her home in the evening.  There had been a few rainy days that Jessie had indeed spent in front of the TV, but other than that, Luke was fairly pleased with how things were going.  

Kirk was still afraid of Jessie and that amused Luke to no end.  Whenever he came into the diner he avoided her like the plague.  If she were sitting in her normal seat at the end of the counter, he'd take a seat at the opposite end.  All she had to do was look at him funny and he was making up excuses to leave.  In a weird sort of way, he felt a swell of pride at her ability to intimidate Kirk.  Like a rite of passage where you weren't a Danes unless you could scare off a Kirk and now that she could, she'd become a man…or something like that.  

Luke shook his head and glanced at the clock.  He was supposed to be meeting Lorelai and Jessie here any minute now.  It was mid-afternoon in the middle of her second week in Stars Hollow and Luke had finally talked to Lorelai about getting a bigger bed.  He hated that he needed her help, but Stars Hollow didn't have a bed store and he knew that she'd know where the best one was, especially since she'd just finished outfitting an inn full of beds.  

Of course, Lorelai wasn't the kind of woman who could simply give advice, though.  She had to tell him where the best place was, how to get there, offer to drive, suggest they take Jessie with them, and then demand that he be ready for her when they arrived from the Dragonfly to pick him up.  Just as he sighed once more and glanced at the clock again, he saw the jeep pull up.

Calling to Caesar that he was leaving, Luke left the diner and made his way to where they were parked.  Yanking open the passenger-side door to find Jessie already buckled in, he jerked his head toward the backseat.  

"But I already called 'front seat'," she said with a frown.

"Tough," he replied.  "You'll fit a lot better in the back than I will."

Sighing heavily, she dramatically unbuckled her belt and squeezed between the two front seats toward the back.  Once she'd vacated the front seat, he sat down and pulled the seatbelt across his lap.  Turning to make sure Jessie was also putting her seatbelt on, he noted that she wasn't her usual filthy self and said, "Did you ride today?"

"Nope, I helped Sookie mix cake batter in the kitchen today and then she let me help her frost the cake when it was done and THEN she even let me lick the bowl!  It was so cool!"

Turning back to the front, Luke gave Lorelai a stern look.  "You let her eat frosting before dinner?"

"Oh, Luke, lighten up," replied Lorelai with a wave of her hand.  She was heading out of the town proper and toward the highway.  "The horses were occupied with guests and she wasn't ready to come home, so I let her play with Sookie.  She was fine."

"She was eating sugar straight from the bag in all likelihood.  If she fills up on frosting, she won't eat her dinner."

"Yes I will!" Jessie piped up from the back, not wanting to get Lorelai or Sookie in trouble with Luke.  

"Uh huh," he responded.  "Just like you ate all your dinner last night?"

"That was different," she answered dismissively.

"How?"

"It was broccoli!" she said in a tone that suggested he wasn't playing with a full deck.

"She's gotta point, Luke," Lorelai cut in.

"Lorelai, please.  She needs her fruits and vegetables.  She's a growing child."

"Not if they're yucky I don't need them."

"Especially if they're yucky.  In fact, the yucky ones are the best ones for you," Luke said firmly.

Jessie giggled.  She'd never heard her uncle use a word like "yucky" before.

"What's so funny back there?" he asked, but she just giggled louder and the conversation ended.

About twenty minutes later they pulled into the parking lot of a strip mall.  The little chain of stores had not only a bed store, but also a linens store.  Groaning, Luke said, "All we need is a bed.  You know that, right?"

With another wave of her hand, Lorelai answered breezily, "Oh, Luke, you can't buy a bigger bed and expect your single sheets to fit it.  Plus you'll need another pillow since I know you only have one for your single bed.  We can kill all kinds of birds with just one stone."

"I don't want to kill any birds," demanded Jessie from the back as Luke opened the door.  

"It's an expression," he answered as he helped her out of the car.

"Like, 'more than one way to skin a cat'," added Lorelai.

"What?!  No!  No hurting cats and no killing birds!" Jessie cried as they headed toward the stores.

Luke chuckled, stopped walking and said, "What Lorelai means is there's more than one way to do something and we can get a lot of stuff done with just this one stop.  No body ever really means they're going to skin a cat or kill a bird.  Okay?"

Jessie regarded him solemnly for a moment before nodding and saying, "Okay."

Slipping her hand into his she skipped along beside him until they caught up to Lorelai and Jessie caught hold her hand as well so that they were walking toward the store in a line with Jessie in the middle.  Anyone who might have seen them would have assumed that they were a family.  The thought was not lost on Lorelai, but Luke seemed oblivious.  He was preoccupied with all the purchases he'd be expected to make today and why.  Liz had been no help at all and he was trying to decide whether he should ask Lorelai if Rory had ever gone through a stage where she needed to sleep with her.

Once inside the girls immediately began throwing themselves onto beds to test them.  "Gotta make sure you're comfortable, Luke," Lorelai told him firmly.

Luke quickly chose a bed, paid for it, and gave his address for the delivery.  They set up a time for later in the day when they could make the delivery and the trio left the store and headed toward the linens place.

This, of course, turned into the bigger nightmare.  Picking out sheets was not something Luke felt he could do well.  In fact, if he were honest, he would have admitted that he was still sleeping on sheets left over from when he was in high school.  In fact, the sheets and quilt on Jessie's bed were from when Liz was in high school.  In short, Luke couldn't imagine anyone in the world less able to pick out sheets.

Luckily, Lorelai took over the sheet experience.  After trying to get him to go with "masculine flowers", "pretty stripes", "non-flannel plaid", and, in a moment of complete abandon, "Lord of the Rings", Lorelai finally hit on something Luke could handle.  Solids.  

"I just want something plain, okay?" he said.  

"So, pink?" she asked, batting her eyelashes.

"No, not pink.  Dark colors.  _Manly_ colors.  Green, dark red, black, navy, any one of those would be fine."

"Yeah, for Borings McBoresalot," Lorelai mocked.

Jessie giggled.  Luke turned to her and said with fake menace, "You think this is funny?"

"Uh huh!" she replied with delight.

Turning back to Lorelai, he said with conviction, "This must be your work."

"Hey, if you can't teach a child when to appreciate a good laugh, what can you teach them?" she answered with faux innocence.

Luke rolled his eyes and turned his attention back to the sheets in front of him.  Dismissing it with a, "There must be something easier," mutter, he walked away from them and around the corner of the aisle where they heard him shout, "Ah ha!"

Lorelai and Jessie looked at each other, smiled, and followed the sound of Luke's voice.  "This is _exactly_ what I'm looking for," he was saying as they rounded the corner.  

Triumphantly, he held up a "Bed-in-a-Bag".  The colors were navy and cream and the bag included sheets, a comforter, pillowcases, and a dust ruffle (whatever the hell that was, he silently added to himself).

"Perfect!" crowed Lorelai.  Then, with one hand on her chest, she fake sniffed and said, "I feel like you've learned so much, Grasshopper."

Rolling his eyes again, Luke said, "Now all I need is another pillow and we can get the heck outta here."

"Pillows are this way," said Jessie helpfully as she skipped down an aisle.

"Thank God," said Luke.  "We're almost done."

"Well, I wouldn't go that far," Lorelai countered with a smile.

~~

When they finally left, Lorelai had filled a cart with his linens, pillow, bathroom stuff, Powerpuff Girl sheets for Jessie, and a myriad of other things he just couldn't begin to name.  He had had to pointedly remind her that they were expecting a bed delivery and needed to get back to Stars Hollow soon or she never would have left the store.

The ride back to Stars Hollow was quiet.  Half-way there Jessie broke the silence by asking, "Hey, Lorelai, are you going to stay for dinner?"

"What a silly question," she replied with a snort.  "Dinner is my favorite meal of the day."

They arrived just in time to see the delivery people pull up.  Luke ran in and helped coordinate the trip up the stairs with the new bed while Lorelai and Jessie hung back at the counter.  

Caesar, knowing the coffee drill, poured a mug for Lorelai before she had to ask and was rewarded with a smile.  

"Can I have a coke, please," asked Jessie.

"Luke says you can have milk or water," he answered.

"Come on!" she cajoled.  "Puh-leeeease!"

"Sorry," he said with a shrug before leaving to bus a table.

Jessie propped her elbows onto the counter and rested her cheekbones on her fists sulking.  "This bites," she spat.  "I can't do _any_thing."

Lorelai chuckled next to her and Jessie glowered even harder.  

"You know what would make you feel better?"

"What?" Jessie asked darkly.

"A donut," Lorelai replied as she lifted the plastic lid off the pile of donuts on the counter.

Jessie's eyes widened as she said, "The last time you did that he yelled at you."

"Yell, schmell," Lorelai said with her customary good humor as she took a donut, broke it in half and handed some to Jessie.  "Eat it fast so that we don't get caught, though."

Determinedly, they each shoved their halves into their mouths.  Lorelai's mouth was bigger than Jessie's, though, and the scene Luke walked into when he finally came downstairs was this:  side by side, Lorelai chewed with her hand over her mouth while trying not to giggle as Jessie chewed with two fingers holding a gob of donut as it protruded from her mouth.

"The hell?" he asked.

Startled, they both spun in their seats to look at him guiltily.  

With arms crossed over his chest, he glared at Jessie and asked, "What's in your mouth?"

Jessie's dark eyes were wide with innocence as she continued to push the donut into her mouth and replied, "Ud-ing."

"It doesn't look like nothing to me," he played along.  "It looks like _donut_.  Have you been eating donuts?"

Shaking her head no, Jessie finally swallowed a bit of it and was able to fit the rest of the dough into her mouth.  

With a sigh, Luke turned to Lorelai who'd finished chewing and said, "I imagine you had nothing to do with this?"

"Not a thing," she assured him.

"Uh huh."  Looking back at Jessie, he saw that she was finally swallowing the last of the donut.

"Now that you can answer, young lady, would you care to tell me what it was you were eating if it wasn't a donut?"

"Um…it was…a…sandwich?" she fumbled for words.

"Since when are sandwiches just dough and sugar?"

"Since Caesar is the best sandwich maker in Stars Hollow," supplied Lorelai.

"Don't sell _me_ down the river," Caesar broke in as he passed them on his way to the kitchen.

"Ingrate," Lorelai called after him.

"That's enough.  No more donuts without asking first, understood?"

With a great sigh, Jessie rolled her eyes in a perfect imitation of his own eye roll and replied, "Fine."

"Good.  Now, how about dinner?" 

"How _about_ dinner!" Lorelai answered enthusiastically.


	5. Chapter Five

Disclaimer:  I don't own anything but the story idea.

A/N:  See Chapter One for full premise.  To sum up, this is an AU (Alternate Universe) in which Jess Mariano never existed.  In his place, Jessie Danes, daughter of Liz, has come to live with her Uncle Luke for the summer.  This is still not beta'ed to be gentle.  I am very pleased that so far people are enjoying this.  Reviews are always welcome, no matter how short or long.  A special thanks goes out to Lindsay for letting me bounce all my crazy ideas of her.  This story would not be here without her.  Literally.  She had to talk me into posting it.

June:  Arriving and Adjusting

Chapter Five

~~

After feeding both Jessie and Lorelai healthy dinners, something he was still in shock over, Luke decided to let Lane and Caesar handle the rest of the diner for the night.  He needed to get upstairs and finish with the bed.  The delivery guys had put together the frame and put the box spring and mattress down on it, but Luke wanted to unpack all the stuff they'd purchased that day, make the bed and then put everything else away.  

Taking Jessie's cleaned plate from the counter and depositing it in the bussing tray, he said to her, "Okay, let's go."

"Go?  Go where?"

"We have to put away the stuff we bought today and I have to make the bed.  You can help."

"Help?  Why do I have to do everything?" she sighed theatrically.

"I'll help, too," Lorelai broke in.  "I _love_ to make beds."

Jessie regarded her suspiciously.  It sounded like a trick.  Whenever grownups pretended to love doing chores or eating broccoli or reading books without pictures in them they were always trying to trick you into doing something you wouldn't like.  "Then you guys can go make the bed and I'll stay down here and have dessert," she said with an evil smile.

"Oooh, dessert," repeated Lorelai, immediately swayed.

"You already had your dessert today," replied Luke.

"When?" Jessie protested.

"The frosting you ate with Sookie, the donut you snuck before dinner and God-knows what else," he answered.

"That was so _long_ ago, though," Jessie whined.  "That was dessert for _lunch_.  I need _dinner_ dessert."

Luke heaved a sigh and said, "Okay, look.  Come upstairs and help with the unpacking and making the bed and I'll let you have one scoop of vanilla ice cream before bed."

"_One_ scoop?" Jessie asked, shocked at his stinginess.

"One," Luke nodded.

"Can I have butterscotch topping?"

"Me, too!" cried Lorelai.

"No," he said evenly.

"_Why_?" Jessie moaned as if in pain.

"Because that's too much sugar before bed," he answered reasonably.

"You never let me do _any_thing!"

"You were at the Dragonfly for most of the day and then we went shopping," Luke pointed out.  "That's not nothing."

"I don't care.  Humph," she answered with her arms crossed over her chest and her chin drooping low.

"Come on, Jessie, a scoop of ice cream is better than nothing isn't it?" he cajoled.  

"No."

"It's not better than nothing?"

"No."

"Luke, can I just ask you a quick question about the bed?" interjected Lorelai.

He swiveled his head and met her eyes.  Was she crazy?  He was in the middle of Custer's Last Stand and she wanted to ask him about the _bed_??  Rolling his eyes, he followed Lorelai up the stairs to his apartment door where she whispered to him, "Luke, you are doing an amazing job with her so far, but can I just say one little thing?"

With his arms crossed over his chest and his chin pointed down, he looked exactly the way Jessie had moments before.  "Shoot."

"Sometimes you have to pick your battles," she explained gently.  "A little butterscotch topping won't kill her and it might go a long way towards, you know, building up your relationship.  She has to _respect_ you, but she also has to _like_ you.  Or at least, you _want_ her to like you…don't you?"

Luke considered.  His father wouldn't have thought twice about saying no and walking away.  He'd said "no" to Luke so many times Luke had suspected he'd enjoyed it.  Was he turning into his father?  No, he reasoned.  He didn't enjoy saying "no," but someone has to set the perimeters.  Kids need discipline.  They need structure.  If they're allowed to run wild they turn out bad.  Look at Liz.  Perfect freaking example.  And yet, he did want her to like him.  And she _had_ behaved well in the stores today, aside from jumping on that one bed.  Was a little butterscotch topping so out of hand?

"Okay.  You've got a point.  I'll be right back."  He opened the door and let Lorelai inside, then descended the stairs and sat down on the stool next to Jessie.  "I'll make you a deal," he said.

Her arms were still crossed over her chest but her chin had drifted up so that she could look at him.  "What?"

"You can have ice cream with butterscotch topping if you tell me that you'll start making your bed every morning."

Jessie considered.  She really wanted the topping, but she hated making her bed.  Possibly, though, he would forget about this request and she could get what she wanted now and then just ignore her end of the deal later.  "Okay," she agreed.

"Okay, good.  Now come on.  Let's go."

Upstairs they found Lorelai sitting on the floor by Luke's new bed opening packages and rifling through shopping bags.   

~~

Later, after they'd washed and dried the new sheets, made and even put the dust ruffle on Luke's new bed, Jessie and Lorelai sat at Luke's kitchen table waiting for him to return with their ice cream.  

"What are you guys doing this weekend?" asked Lorelai.

"Dunno," replied Jessie, one cheek resting against her palm.  "What are you doing?"

"Well, I'm having dinner with my parents and daughter on Friday, then Rory, that's my daughter, is coming back here with me and we're going to spend some much deserved quality time together and I can't wait."

Before Jessie could comment, Luke reentered with two bowls at this point and set one in front of each of them.  "Dessert is served, ladies," he said.

"Awww, yeah!" crowed Lorelai.  

"Yum!" cried Jessie as she took a spoonful of the vanilla and butterscotch and shoveled it into her waiting mouth.  With her first bite she allowed her head to drop back as she closed her eyes and sighed dramatically.  "Sooooo goooooood," she mumbled with a full mouth.

"Try not to let it dribble down your front," cautioned Luke sternly as he turned to the sink.

At his words, Jessie looked at Lorelai, opened her mouth and allowed melted ice cream to slip down her chin in thin streaks.  Lorelai almost spit hers out at the site and this made Jessie laugh, forcing the rest of her mouthful to tumble out and into her lap.  They were both helplessly lost in giggles when Luke turned around to see Jessie covered in her own mouthful of ice cream.  

"Oh, that's real nice," he said, trying to hold in his own laughter.  "Very ladylike."  

This brought on another set of giggles and it was some time before Jessie and Lorelai could breathe again.  When they'd finally calmed down, Luke took their empty bowls away and sent Jessie into the bathroom to get cleaned up.  At the table, Luke and Lorelai sat quietly.  It had turned dark outside and the dim light above their heads cast soft shadows.

"Thanks for helping me with this today," Luke said awkwardly.  "Not just the bed, but with Jess, too.  I appreciate it."

"Anytime, Luke.  That's what friends are for, right?"  He met her eyes and tried to read them.  She just smiled at him, though, and continued by saying, "You've been there for me how many times when Rory was growing up?  I couldn't have done it without you.  If I can in some little way return the favor, then I'm happy."  

Luke would have replied, but Jessie opened the bathroom door with a bang and shouted, "Powerpuff Girls!" before racing to the couch, jumping over the arm and landing on the soft cushions with a grunt.

"What did we say about jumping on furniture?" Luke asked.

"It's a good thing?" she answered playfully as she flicked on the remote and changed from ESPN to Cartoon Network.  It hadn't taken her long to memorize the channels.  In her pink jammies she stood on her knees to look over the couch back at the two adults sitting in the kitchen before saying, "Uncle Luke it's time for bedtime TV.  Are you coming?"

"Bedtime TV?" asked Lorelai with raised eyebrows.

"It's a little thing we do," he explained standing.

"Tell me about it," she asked joining him in the living room area.  

"Before bedtime I let Jessie watch half an hour of TV if she hasn't watch any during the rest of the day.  We usually sit together and just have quiet time."

Lorelai smiled warmly and said, "Can I join you?"

Jessie's brow furrowed immediately.  "It's something we do _together_.  Just _us_," she said meaningfully.  Stars Hollow was just beginning to replace New York in her affections and she wasn't about to be usurped by another "significant other", as her mother referred to them.  For years she'd had to fight for her mother's attentions and affections and so far she'd had Luke to herself.  If she could keep it that way, she wanted to.  

Startled at Jessie's tone, Lorelai played it cool saying, "You know what? It's really late and I wouldn't want to impose on you guys any more tonight, anyway.  I understand what it's like to have special rituals like that."

Luke protested but Lorelai was firm.  He walked her downstairs and made sure she got to her car safely.  Once back in his apartment he closed the door and said, "That was really rude, Jessie.  Why did you talk to Lorelai that way?"

Pretending to be engrossed in the show and hoping he'd drop it, she replied, "Huh?" 

"Why couldn't Lorelai join us?" he repeated.

With growing impatience Jessie shrugged and scowled.  "I don't know."

Luke sat down beside her and took the remote.  Pressing "mute" he turned his body toward her and said, "We need to talk about this because it was very rude of you.  After all that she's done for you with the horseback riding and today with the shopping, why did you make her leave?"

"You wanted her to stay?" she asked with a furrowed brow.

"I didn't want her to leave the way she did."

Silently, Jessie scowled harder and focused her eyes on the muted cartoon.  "Jessie, answer me."

"I don't know!" she shouted.  How could she make him understand?  She could hardly find the words herself.  She finally had an adult in her life who actually enjoyed spending time with her, who cared enough to make her eat healthy, who let her go horseback riding and who let her crawl into bed with them when she was feeling alone and scared.  She didn't want to lose him to anyone, even Lorelai.  "She should watch TV at _her_ house and let us watch TV _here_, that's all."

Luke sighed, completely bewildered.  "I don't understand."

Infuriated, Jessie stood up and yelled at the top of her lungs, "I hate her and she should leave us alone!"  

Losing his temper in an instant, Luke stood up as well and shouted, "That is _enough_!  I don't ever want to hear you speak like that, no matter whom you're talking about!  Do you understand?"

Jessie lower lip trembled, but she held herself together as Luke yelled at her.  "I don't know what has gotten into you, but it is unacceptable.  What do you have to say for yourself?"

Silently, Jessie continued to stand before him staring at nothing.  "If you have nothing to say, you can go to your room," Luke finally said quietly.  When she didn't move, he stated firmly, "_Now_."

Turning and trudging to her little closet, Jessie waited until she'd slammed the door before letting the tears come.  After crawling into bed she cried herself to sleep in the dark room.

~~

Much later, Luke awoke out a dead sleep to find that he was alone.  She had not come out of her room since she'd slammed the door and he was still baffled by her behavior.  Glancing at the clock on his nightstand he found that it was just about the time when she usually woke him up.  He listened for her door to open but the apartment remained silent.

Impatient with himself for worrying, but unable to stop himself, he threw back his new sheets and comforter so that he could pad across the floor to her room.  Gently twisting the knob, he pulled the door open and allowed the lights from the street and moon to bathe the inside of her room.  He quickly saw that she was fast asleep in her new Powerpuff Girl sheets.  Leaving the door open he entered and stepped the few feet to the bed.  She was lying on her back, legs and arms flung about at odd angles, mouth slightly ajar, breathing deep and even.  He saw the unmistakable traces of old tears, though, and his stomach ached a little.  She'd cried herself to sleep and that's why she hadn't woken up yet.  She must have exhausted herself.

He needed to talk to her tomorrow and figure out what had happened.  One minute everything was fine and the next she was practically throwing Lorelai out the door.  And that was the most bizarre thing of all, he thought, as he let the backs of his fingertips brush her heated forehead.  She liked Lorelai.  They were friends.  Why had she suddenly acted so strangely?

With a deep sigh, Luke left the room, closing the door behind him.  Once settled back in his new bed he tried to go back to sleep, but the images kept playing over and over in his mind.  


	6. Chapter Six

Disclaimer:  I don't own anything but the story idea.

A/N:  See Chapter One for full premise.  To sum up, this is an AU (Alternate Universe) in which Jess Mariano never existed.  In his place, Jessie Danes, daughter of Liz, has come to live with her Uncle Luke for the summer.  This is still not beta'ed to be gentle.  I am very pleased that so far people are enjoying this.  Reviews are always welcome, no matter how short or long.  A special thanks goes out to Lindsay for letting me bounce all my crazy ideas off of her.  This story would not be here without her.  Literally.  She had to talk me into posting it.

June:  Arriving and Adjusting

Chapter Six

The next morning Luke made sure that he was in the apartment when Jessie woke up.  He was washing dishes at seven when the door to her room opened and she stood there looking rumpled, sleepy and confused.  As he dried his hands on a dishtowel he said, "'Mornin'.  Sleep okay?"

With a great yawn and eyes that were still half closed, Jessie nodded and went to sit at the kitchen table.  "How come you're not downstairs?" she asked groggily.

"I wanted to talk to you," he answered as he sat down across from her.

Yawning again, Jessie propped her chin on her hand and looked at him with sleepy eyes.  "Okay," she said.

"Last night you said you hated Lorelai," he started.

Jessie didn't answer but she did squirm a little in her seat and shift her eyes away from his.

"Now, I know that that can't be true because you have such a good time with her," he continued gently.  "So, if you don't hate her, I don't understand why you said you did."

With a frown Jessie admitted, "I don't _hate_ her, I just…I just don't like that she came in and…" she searched for the right words "…and _took over_."

"Took over?" he asked, happy that they were talking, but still not understanding the cause of her upset.

"Yeah," she said.  "Bedtime TV is something just _we_ do and if she stayed for that, would she stay longer?  And if she stayed longer there would be no room for _me_," she finished awkwardly.

"No room?" he repeated, wanting to be sure that she was really saying what he thought she was saying.

"Mommy's boyfriends always sleep in her bed and there's no room for me," she explained still unable to meet his eyes.  She felt a little ashamed that she counted for so little in her mother's world.

Infuriated with his sister, Luke silently regarded his niece across their kitchen table and tried to keep his tone as even as possible when he spoke next.  "Lorelai is _not_ my girlfriend.  So you don't _ever_ have to be worried that there won't be enough room for you."

"But you might _get_ a girlfriend," she pointed out impatiently, her eyes already silently accusing him of abandoning her.

"Yes, that is a possibility," he acknowledged with a nod, "but I can promise you that as long as you're living here I will _never_ have an over-night guest."

Jessie looked at him doubtfully and said, "Really?"

"_Really_," he assured her.

 Nodding her reluctant acceptance, she said, "I'm sorry I yelled at you."

"That's okay, but next time try to use your words.  Yelling won't get you very far in life."

"Okay," Jessie promised.  Then, she stood and came around to his side of the table, crawled into his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck.  He returned the tight hug before she pulled back and scampered toward the bathroom.  Luke smiled.

That Saturday, Lorelai and Rory came into the diner for breakfast.  Jessie hadn't seen Lorelai since the day of the bed shopping so when she waved at them from her perch on the stool, Lorelai waved back and approached with a younger version of herself in tow. 

"Hey, Jess," she said brightly.  "This is my daughter, Rory.  Rory, this is Luke's niece, Jessie."

"Nice to meet you, Jessie," answered Rory with a smile.

"Hi," Jess replied shyly. 

"Rory!  Back for the weekend?" Luke called from swing doors.

"Yup!  Mom and I are having a full Stars Hollow day.  Breakfast here, then a walk in the park, then video rentals, then candy shopping, then home to watch said videos while eating said candy.  It's going to be fabulous."

"As long as you realize you're killing yourselves," he replied with a disapproving frown.

"Yep, we know!" Lorelai assured him as they sat themselves at the counter.

When they'd finished eating, Rory excused herself to make a quick stop at the bookstore before they went for their walk in the park.  Lorelai savored her mug of coffee as she waited for her daughter to return.  Jessie waited until Luke was in the kitchen, fidgeted for a moment and then said, "Lorelai?"

"What's up, sweetie?" Lorelai replied, concerned at Jessie's tone.

"I'm sorry I made you leave," she said quietly as she looked at her fingers.

"Made me leave?" Lorelai repeated, confused.

"You asked if you could watch TV with us and I told you no," Jessie explained.  "I'm sorry."

"Honey, it's okay," Lorelai assured her.  "Rory and I have stuff that we only do with each other.  I completely understand that you have similar things you do with Luke."

"I know but," she fidgeted again, wanting this to come out correctly, "we both like you, so you can be his girlfriend if you want." Jessie felt this offer was more than generous.

Startled, Lorelai's hand shook a little and she set her coffee cup down too hard on the counter before asking, "What?"

"As long as you don't sleep over," Jessie added firmly.

"Sleep…_what_?" Lorelai stammered.

"Sleep _over_," repeated Jessie, wishing the adults would keep up.

"Why would I…sleep over?" Lorelai was confused.  Absolutely and completely confused.

One thing Liz could be proud of was the fact that she'd always answered her child's questions as if she were speaking to another adult.  "To have sex," replied Jessie solemnly. 

"To…have…I think maybe you're…mistaken about…some things…." Lorelai faltered, but before she could continue, Luke returned from the kitchen and brought the coffeepot over to top off her mug.

Noting the silence he asked, "Everything okay here?"

"Uh huh," replied Jessie taking a sip of her juice.

Lorelai stared at Jessie, unable to speak, unsure what to say in front of Luke and completely unnerved.  She had stayed away because she wasn't sure how Jessie would react to seeing her again.  The last thing she'd imagined happening was getting permission to be Luke's girlfriend but only if she didn't have sex with him.  Bizarre wasn't a strong enough word for what had just happened.

"You look a little shell-shocked," Luke observed as he took in Lorelai's expression.

"I'm fine," she lied.

"Okay, then," he replied, totally not believing her.  As Luke left them to bring the coffee around to the rest of his patrons, Lorelai turned in her seat to face Jessie and said, "Jess, listen to me.  I really appreciate the offer to…be…Luke's girlfriend…but we're _just_ _friends_.  So, I won't ever be…sleeping over.  Okay?"  Lorelai tried to keep her expression as blank as possible during this speech.

Jessie studied Lorelai's features and said, "Okay.  Can I try your coffee?"

Lorelai blinked.  Someone needed to teach this child about the art of transition.  Too stunned by the change of topic to growl her customary, "Hands off!" she simply pushed the mug toward Jess and let her chin fall into her hand, still too bewildered and surprised to do anything.

Jessie took the mug and helped herself to a hearty sip.  She immediately made a face and proclaimed loudly, "EW!!"

"Hey," called Luke, overhearing Jessie and seeing her with the mug.  "What do you think you're doing?  Lorelai, don't give her coffee!"

Jolted back into reality, Lorelai snatched the cup back from Jessie and called, "Sorry!  Won't happen again!"


	7. Chapter Seven

Disclaimer:  I don't own anything but the story idea.

A/N:  See Chapter One for full premise.  To sum up, this is an AU (Alternate Universe) in which Jess Mariano never existed.  In his place, Jessie Danes, daughter of Liz, has come to live with her Uncle Luke for the summer.  This is still not beta'ed to be gentle.  I am very pleased that so far people are enjoying this.  Reviews are always welcome, no matter how short or long.  A special thanks goes out to Lindsay for letting me bounce all my crazy ideas off of her.  This story would not be here without her.  Literally.  She had to talk me into posting it.  And another big thanks goes out to my new friend Sarah for taking the time to read drafts of recent chapters.

July:  Cowboys and Ballerinas

Chapter Seven

~~

Luke stood at the counter refilling ketchup bottles during the afternoon lull on the first of July.  Jessie was with Rory at the library and would supposedly be spending the evening with the Gilmores as well.  Something about initiating another into the Movie Night tradition.  He was supposed to stop by after the diner closed to pick her up and he could only imagine what he would find.  She'll probably be high on sugar, coffee, carbs and whatever else they could entice her with, he thought to himself grimacing.  

Capping the last bottle he looked up when the bell jingled on the front door.  He nodded at Patty who smiled back.  "Luke, I've got some good news," she sang out.

"Kirk's been sterilized?" he guessed.

"Honey that would be _great_ news," she sighed.  "This is just _good_ news."

"Lay it on me," he demanded, hands on hips.

"A new beginners ballet class starts next week," Patty explained.  "It'll be on Thursday nights from six to seven.  Is Jessie still interested?"

"Um, I think so, yeah," Luke replied thoughtfully. 

"Just let me know.  You can bring her by the studio that night for the first class if she is and I'll bill you.  She'll need a black leotard, white tights and ballet slippers.  Her hair should be up in a bun and we use the entire hour so pick her up at seven sharp."

"Got it," he said firmly.  "Thanks for the heads up."

"Anything for you, darling," Patty simpered as she took her leave.

As Luke put the ketchups back on each table the bell jingled again and he looked up to see Lane.

"Hey, Luke!" she said brightly.  

"Hiya, Lane," he answered.  

An hour later the diner was packed and by the time they closed at eleven Luke was exhausted.  He'd been spending so much time upstairs on the couch with Jessie instead of closing that he'd almost forgotten how rigorous the work was.  Scrubbing the stove and cleaning the floors, tables, chairs, countertop…it was a lot.  He felt a little guilty that he'd been pawning the work off onto Lane and Caesar.  Jessie wouldn't be here forever, though.  Even as he thought it, Luke's heart felt funny.  He didn't like to think about her leaving.

When he finally locked the door of the diner and walked through the warm night air to the Gilmore house, Luke noted with quiet irritation how hot it was.  The diner and apartment above were air-conditioned and the heat outside was a jolt to his system.  He immediately felt his back break out in a sweat and in response he peeled off his plaid shirt.  The gray t-shirt underneath allowed the fragrant breeze to reach his skin and he was thankful for whatever cool air he could get.

The trip to Lorelai's house took all of five minutes.  With his plaid shirt gripped in his left hand, he lifted his right fist to knock on the door.  He could see through the front windows a blue glow that could only be the television.

He was greeted a few seconds later by Rory who allowed him entrance.

"Come on in," she said with a smile.  

Luke followed her into the living room to find Lorelai and Jessie on the couch with an empty space on Jessie's other side, presumably where Rory had been sitting.  Both were engrossed in the action on screen, which appeared to be dancers.

"What is this?" he asked.

"Shhh!" scolded Lorelai.  "It's the end."

"Of what?" he pressed.

"Fame," supplied Rory, taking her vacated seat on the couch.  

"What is this rated?" asked Luke, suspicious.

"Shhhhhhhh!" Lorelai returned.

Impatient, Luke left the living room and headed for the kitchen where he opened the fridge and helped himself to a beer.  If he was going to be shushed he needed a beer.  Tossing his plaid shirt down on the cluttered table, he sat in one of the chairs and pulled some open newspaper toward him to read.  The overhead light was out, but there was enough illumination from the light above the kitchen sink for him to read by.

After a second, the music swelled and then he heard clapping and cheering.  Another second later he heard feet pounding toward him and looked up just in time to see Jessie hurl herself against him.

"Hi!" she yelled as she jumped on his lap and gave him a hug.

"Hi" he answered, returning the hug.

She then jumped down and started bouncing up and down in place.  "We had the _best_ time!  Rory and me went to the library, then we got candy, and then we got movies and then we watched them ALL!  It was _so_ _cool_!"  

"How much junk food have you eaten today?" he asked, noting with apprehension her energy.  

Lorelai, who'd been watching from the doorway, made her entrance just then.  "Luke!  Enjoying my beer and newspaper are you?"

Draining the bottle, he handed her the empty and said, "Yeah, it was good, thanks."

Lorelai took it from him and noted his bare forearms.  They looked…good.  As did his…shoulders.  Ever since that darn Jessie had offered him up like piece of double chocolate cake….  Shaking it off, she deposited the bottle on the counter by the sink, turned back to the two at the table and smiled.  "I'm glad you had fun, Jess.  You're more than welcome to come back any time."

"What did you watch?" Luke wanted to know.

"City Slickers One and Two, then we took a dinner break and then we watched Fame.  It was _awesome_!"  Jessie rolled her eyes back into her head, dropped her head back and opened her arms up wide to drive the awesomeness home.  Then she started jumping up and down again.

"What did you give her?" he asked Lorelai.  "Cocaine?"  

Lorelai shrugged and said, "The usual, fruits, vegetables, Milk Duds, Red Vines, M&Ms, you know…."

Turning back to the still bouncing Jessie, Luke said wearily, "I'm glad you had a good time.  Now lets go home, huh?  I'm tired."

Jessie took his hand and pulled him to his feet.  "I've just gotta get my library books," she answered as she scampered away.

Forgetting his plaid shirt on the table, Luke followed her to the entryway where she collected her bag of books and put on her shoes.  "Thanks for having her," Luke said sincerely to Lorelai and Rory as they watched their friends leave.  "It looks like she had fun."

"It was our pleasure," Rory assured him.

"She's welcome back anytime," added Lorelai

Pulling the door open, Luke took Jessie's bag of books and they waved a final goodbye.  The heat outside had not lessened and it was just now, when Jessie felt the heaviness of the air that she began to settle down and yawn.  With her books in one hand, Luke took Jess by the other and led her back to the diner.  By the time they reached their destination she was practically asleep on her feet.  It was way past nine-thirty, the time he usually carried her into bed at, and even with all the sugar she'd consumed that day, her little body just wasn't used to the abuse she'd heaped onto it.  

Setting the bag of books on the floor just inside the door Luke led Jessie into her room.  "Put your p.j.s on," he instructed.

"No shower tonight?" she asked drowsily.

"It's too late," he answered.  "You can sleep dirty."

"Good," Jessie replied, too tired to see the point of bathing anyway.

He left her to see if there were any messages on the answering machine.  There weren't, as usual.  She emerged from her room in her pink and yellow pajamas.  "Bedtime TV?" she asked with a mixture of sleepiness and hopefulness.  Her eyes were already half-closed.

"After three movies and God knows how much sugar?  Think again, little lady," he smiled.

"Will you read to me?" she asked, cocking her head to one side.

"That I can do," Luke answered decisively. 

Jessie went to the bag and pulled out _Charlotte's Web_.  Luke followed her into her room and she got under the covers.  They had added a bedside lamp to her room and this gave off a soft glow as he sat next to her on the bed and began to read.  By the time he'd reached the end of the first chapter, Jessie was asleep.  Putting the book aside, Luke tucked her in and turned off the light. 

~~

Out in the apartment, Luke got ready for bed and turned out the light.  Weary to the bone, he gratefully sank into bed and pulled the covers up to his chest.  As he drifted off his mind turned to Jessie.  After they'd made up she had again started joining him in the middle of the night, this time, though, without asking.  There was more than enough room and she seemed to feel that there should be no reason why she _shouldn't_ take advantage.  

Luke didn't really mind.  With the bigger bed he could stretch out while he fell asleep and not even really notice when she joined him.  He kind of liked that she felt comfortable enough to turn to him for security.  

He really would miss her when she left.  Luke's heart twitched a little and his hands clenched.  He didn't like the idea that she'd be leaving him, but he _hated_ the idea that she'd be going back to Liz and whatever boyfriend of the week was sleeping at their place.

But it wasn't his decision to make, he reminded himself.  Liz was the kid's mother and that was that.  Any interference on his part would only lead to problems.  No, he decided as he fell asleep, it was best to just let things go the way they were meant to go.

Hours later, Luke groggily noted the bed shake as he felt Jessie join him.  Slipping under the covers and settling her head on the other pillow she whispered, "'Night, Uncle Luke."

"Sleep tight," he whispered back.


	8. Chapter Eight

Disclaimer:  I don't own anything but the story idea.

A/N:  See Chapter One for full premise.  To sum up, this is an AU (Alternate Universe) in which Jess Mariano never existed.  In his place, Jessie Danes, daughter of Liz, has come to live with her Uncle Luke for the summer.  This is still not beta'ed to be gentle.  I am very pleased that so far people are enjoying this.  Reviews are always welcome, no matter how short or long.  A special thanks goes out to Lindsay for letting me bounce all my crazy ideas off of her.  This story would not be here without her.  Literally.  She had to talk me into posting it.  And another big thanks goes out to my new friend Sarah for taking the time to read drafts of recent chapters.

July:  Cowboys and Ballerinas

Chapter Eight

~~

The next morning Jessie bounded down the stairs a full hour later than normal.  Lorelai had already been and gone, returning his forgotten plaid shirt on her way.  He had to be wrong, but he could have sworn he'd detected…something in her eyes when she'd exchanged his shirt for a cup of coffee.  Was it regret?  Was it more of the wistfulness he thought he'd seen a while back?  Or was it just caffeine deprivation?  She hadn't stayed long enough for him to find out.

Luke raised his eyebrows at Jessie.  She was getting to be so independent.  As she clambered up onto the stool at the end of the counter he noted that her hair was still wet from a shower and she'd put on a pair of denim cutoffs with a yellow t-shirt that flaunted a big white daisy on the front.  Her ball cap had been left upstairs and the only problem he could see was that her hair, though drying, was still hopelessly tangled.

"Morning," she said brightly.

"Morning," he returned.  "What's with your hair?" 

"It hurt to brush it," she frowned.  "So I gave up.  Can I have pancakes today?"

"After you eat your cereal," he nodded.  "Next time we see Lorelai we should ask her about stuff to make your hair easier to comb.  If anyone knows the answer it's probably her."

Jessie nodded her agreement as Luke went into the kitchen and poured her a bowl of cornflakes and a glass of milk.  Returning to the counter he set the food in front of her and she reluctantly poured the milk over the flakes.  He turned his back for a second to refill Babette's coffee and when he looked back he caught her dumping half the contents of the sugar holder into her bowl. 

"Hey!" he scolded.  "That's enough!"

She jumped, startled, gave him a guilty smile and put the sugar down.  

The diner was slowing down and Luke stood watching Jessie eat for a second before he said, "Miss Patty came to see me yesterday."

Jessie's eyebrows lifted as she tried to bend low to take a huge bite of soggy cereal and look him in the eye at the same time.

"She asked if you were still interested in taking ballet lessons," he continued nonchalantly.

"Rea-hy?" she gasped, the cereal making a hasty and unintended exit from her mouth.

"Hey!" Luke admonished.  "Chew, don't spew."

While he cleaned up the mess she'd made, she swallowed what was left in her mouth, and then looked up at him with pleading eyes.  "Can I, can I, can I, can I, please? Please, please?  Pretty please?  With _no_ sugar on top?"  Her hands were clasped tight under her chin.

"Well," he began, lifting his shoulders and glancing at the ceiling.

"Pleeeeeease!" she moaned.

"Okay," Luke said finally.

"Yes!  Yes!  I'm going to be a ballerina!  Thank you, thank you, _thank you_!!" she shouted.  Jumping off her stool she ran around the counter and threw her arms around his waist.  

"Okay, okay, calm down," he said, prying her off his legs, uncomfortable with all his customers watching.  

Jessie pulled back and clapped her hands together with delight.  "Yay!" she sang out.

"Finish your breakfast," Luke ordered gruffly, hoping to repair some of the damage done to his reputation during the last few minutes.

"Okay!" she replied happily as she jumped back onto her stool.

~~

"Are you coming out or not?" Luke asked, getting impatient.  It was one day later, a Saturday, and Luke was impatiently standing outside the women's dressing room of the nearest Sports Authority.  

Jessie emerged a few seconds later in a simple black leotard with capped sleeves.  Her feet and legs were bare, but that didn't stop her from doing a little twirl for him as she happily showed off the fit.

It was a little big on her, but Luke figured she'd grow into it.  "Okay, looks good," he said with a nod of approval.  "Go back and change so we can get your shoes and tights."

Jessie obeyed, happily dancing back into the dressing room.

"Awww," came a voice from somewhere behind him.  Turning, Luke spotted a woman with chin-length blonde hair and a petite frame.  "Your daughter is _adorable_!" she commented before smiling and leaving him.  

It took Luke a second to comprehend that the woman had been referring to Jessie.  He smiled to himself at the thought and was somehow glad that he'd been too surprised to correct her.  His niece was growing on him with each day that passed.

An hour later they were headed back toward Stars Hollow, their purchases resting near Jessie's feet on the floor of the truck.  

Since they'd been at a sporting goods store, Luke had insisted on getting her a baseball glove to go with the leotard and ballet slippers.  He'd firmly told her that she should expose herself to as many different sports as possible so that she'd never miss out on something she might like.  

Jessie had simply given him a dubious look.  True to his word, Luke had left the diner with Caesar and Lane and brought Jessie to the park across the street for a game of catch.  He already had his own mitt and a baseball, and after showing her the basics and doffing another plaid shirt, they began.  

As they tossed the ball back and forth, Jessie gripped the stiff new glove from the inside, frustrated at how difficult it was to catch.

"I don't like this," she declared.

"Why not?" he grouched back.

"It too _hard_," she whined.  "I can't do it."

"Whaddaya mean, too hard?" Luke asked with a frown.

"The glove hurts my hand," Jessie explained with a scowl.

"That's because it's not broken in yet."

"I don't _want_ to break it in," she complained.

"Here," he said, deftly catching the ball she'd thrown to him.  He set it down in the grass and walked to her with his glove extended out.  "Use mine and see what you think."

Jessie took Luke's worn glove and handed her new stiff one to him.  Unbeknownst to them, an audience had gathered at the gazebo.  Lorelai and Rory had been on their way to the diner when they'd spotted the duo in the park.  Unable to believe their eyes, they'd ignored the diner and headed toward them.

Luke walked back to his spot on the grass, crouched back down to her height and threw the ball.  Jessie caught it and smiled.

"Feel the difference?" he asked.

"Yeah," she said slowly.  "Why isn't mine like that?"

"Because yours is brand new.  We just have to work out the stiffness and it'll be fine," he explained using his right hand to work the leather of the new glove.  

"Hee!" smirked Lorelai.  "Dirty!"

"Mom!" admonished Rory

Jessie heard them and waved.  "We're playing catch," she called.  "You wanna play?"

"We're looking for coffee, not catch," replied Lorelai.  

"And chili fries," added Rory.

"I _love_ chili fries!" squealed Jessie.

"Are we talkin' or playin' here?" grouched Luke.

"Sorry, Pedro, didn't mean to interrupt!" Lorelai deadpanned, hands held up in front of herself, palms facing outward.

"His name is _Luke_!" Jessie corrected with a giggle, not getting the joke.

Luke rolled his eyes and replied, "Lorelai thinks she's being funny."

Gasping in mock outrage, Lorelai shot back, "Thinks?  _Thinks?_  I'll have you know that I am widely regarded as funny.  I don't _think_ I'm funny.  I _am_ funny!"

"You're a laugh-riot right now," Luke replied sarcastically as he tossed the ball to Jessie.

Rory and Jessie shared a glance and a smile.  Whenever Luke and Lorelai argued, there was sure to be some good entertainment.

Jessie caught the ball in her gloved hand and threw it back to Luke as Lorelai sputtered.  "I seem to sense sarcasm from you, mister!  Sarcasm is _very_ unbecoming."

"So is thinking you're funny when you're not," he lobbed back.

"Wow," she said.  "This is a very ugly side of you Luke.  I hope it's not one that'll be staying long."

"We'll see," he promised.  "You home for the summer, Rory?"

"Yup and it's good to be back," Rory answered, chuckling at his change of topic.

"Did Jessie tell you guys what she's gonna be doing next week?"

"No, what?" asked Lorelai.

"Ballet!" Jessie shouted, excited all over again at the very mention of it.  "I get to go to ballet class!  We bought me a leotard and shoes today and tomorrow when we go grocery shopping we're getting me _tights_!  I can't wait!"

Lorelai laughed at Jessie's excitement.  "That's great," she said warmly, sharing a smile with Luke.  

"I'm hungry," Jessie suddenly announced.

"Me, too," added Rory.

"You wanna stop for today?" asked Luke.

"Yeah, let's have chili fries," Jessie suggested.  

"No chili fries," Luke replied.  "You can have regular fries with a sandwich, but not chili fries."

"Awwww," she complained as the four of them headed across the street.  

"Oh, Lorelai!" Luke suddenly announced.  "We have a question for you."

"Moi?" she replied, intrigued.

"Yeah," he said as he held the door opened for the ladies.  "Jessie's hair is always really tangly when she's done washing it.  Is there something we can put in it to make it easier to comb?"

His question was posed with such sincerity that she had trouble keeping a straight face.  "Yeah," she finally replied.  "Conditioner.  You can find it at any supermarket or drugstore.  Right next to the shampoo."

"Hmm," he replied.  "Okay, thanks."

Lorelai shook her head in disbelief as she sat down with Jessie and Rory.  Boys were so silly sometimes.

~~

Next chapter:  Ballet class!


	9. Chapter Nine

Disclaimer:  I don't own anything but the story idea.

A/N:  See Chapter One for full premise.  To sum up, this is an AU (Alternate Universe) in which Jess Mariano never existed.  In his place, Jessie Danes, daughter of Liz, has come to live with her Uncle Luke for the summer.  I am very pleased that so far people are enjoying this.  Reviews are **always** welcome, no matter how short or long (just in case you're reading and not reviewing…you know who you are).  A special thanks goes out to Lindsay for letting me bounce all my crazy ideas off of her.  This story would not be here without her.  Literally.  She had to talk me into posting it.  And another big thanks goes out to my new friend Sarah for taking the time to read drafts of recent chapters.

July:  Cowboys and Ballerinas

Chapter Nine

~~

Sunlight streamed into their living room as Luke sat on his couch facing the TV with Jessie standing between his knees with her back to him.  Dressed in her black leotard and white tights, she was ready except for her hair.  Feeling a trifle overwhelmed, Luke asked, "Are you _sure_ about this?"

"Miss Patty said it _has_ to be up in a bun," she responded definitively.  "I saw her yesterday."

Jessie's hair fell in soft, dark curls around her shoulders.  They had picked up some of that conditioner Lorelai had recommended and it had indeed made a world of difference.  That had been overwhelming, too, though.  Who knew there would be so many different kinds?  Luke grimaced at the memory of trying to choose the correct kind.  

But that wasn't his problem right now.  Now, he had to somehow figure out this bun situation.  Impatient with standing still for so long, Jessie wriggled and griped, "We're going to be late!" 

"Okay, okay," Luke rumbled.  "Just let me figure this out."

Pulling all of her hair into one fist, Luke tugged it up so that he had a sort of ponytail at the top of her head.  After using the brush to smooth out the ridges, he took the hair tie Jessie was holding up near her shoulder and twisted it around the hair, amazed that it stayed in place.  Half done, he thought triumphantly.

Now I just have to get the rest of it in a bun.  Jessie held up a book they'd found at the library.  _One Hundred And One Ways To Do Your Hair_ was the title and it had both pictures and diagrams in it.  

Luke took the ponytail and tried to follow the directions in the book.  He twisted the hair tight around the base of the ponytail and then under itself again.  Holding the knot in place with one hand, he fumbled trying to get one of the hairpins open.  Jessie wriggled again.  

Frustrated, Luke put one of the pins into his mouth to open with his teeth and when it worked he crowed, "Ha!" only to have it snap closed when he lost his grip.  "Damn!" he shouted.

"Language!  And we're going to be _late_!" Jessie repeated, squirming impatiently.

Letting go of the knot, Luke let her hair hang in the ponytail as he went for the phone.  A quick glance at the clock told him that she should be close by.  It was Thursday at 5:45 pm and there were very few places she went after work during the week.    

"Hello," she answered cheerfully.

"It's me," he barked.  "I need some help."

"Luke?"

"Yeah.  Are you near the diner?"

"I'm _in_ the diner," she said. 

"On the phone?" he scolded.  

"You needed help?" she reminded him.

Luke sighed.  He did need her help.  "Can you come upstairs?  Right away?"

"Why Luke, this is all so sudden," she answered teasingly.

"Very funny," he shot back.  "Just please come up here, okay?"

"Bossy," she alleged before hanging up.

Luke put the phone back in its cradle and turned to Jessie who had been watching him expectantly.  "Lorelai is coming up to help with your hair."

"Yay!" Jessie shouted as she clapped her hands and jumped up and down.  

"Calm down!" he grumped, "I could have figured it out, it just would have taken too long."

"Uh-huh," she replied dubiously with her arms crossed over her chest.

With hands on hips, Luke was about to chide her for doubting him, but the knocking interrupted.  "Knock, knock!" called Lorelai from out in the hall.  "Everyone decent?"

"Come in," yelled Jessie.

"Indoor voice," Luke reminded her.  

Lorelai entered and Jessie scampered over.  "Can you please finish my hair?  We have to be there in _fifteen_ _minutes_ and Uncle Luke can't _do_ it!" she explained dramatically all the while dancing around showing off her new leotard. 

With a big smile, Lorelai allowed Jessie to lead her to the couch as she said, "Of course I can help.  I'm a girl.  Girls know how to do hair."

Taking Luke's seat on the couch and letting Jessie position herself between her knees, Lorelai noted that the ponytail was actually pretty good.  "Okay, Luke," she said.  "Watch and learn."  As Luke stood behind her and watched, Lorelai took Jessie's hair, twisted it loosely around the base of the pony all the while depositing hair pins here and there until it was all perfectly put together into a little bun at the top of her head.  "All done," she said simply when she was finished.

Jessie danced into the bathroom to look in the mirror as Luke and Lorelai shared a smile.  "Yay!" Jessie called out.  "It's perfect!" she said as she danced back out of the bathroom and into the living room. 

"Thank you, Lorelai," Luke prompted, looking at Jessie pointedly.

"Thank you, Lorelai," Jessie repeated.  "You wanna walk with us to Miss Patty's?"

"Why not?" declared Lorelai.  "It's beautiful out."

"Woo hoo!" shouted Jessie, way too excited to pay attention to minor details like inside voice/outside voice.  Jessie put on her sneakers over her tights and held her slippers in a tight fist as she waited for the adults to hurry up and get ready. "Come _on_!" she whined, bouncing.

"We're coming!" Luke growled, irritated with all the jumping and shouting.  He was getting a headache.  

From the apartment, Jessie took the stairs two at a time while Luke and Lorelai trailed behind her.  She was ahead of them between the stairs and the front door of the diner and once outside she stood bouncing at the corner waiting for them to cross the street with her.

"Would you stop with the jumping already?" Luke pleaded.

"I can't!" she squealed.

"It's giving me a headache," Luke told her.

Jessie held her hand out to him as they reached her and they crossed the street.  As a consolation, Jessie switched from bouncing to skipping along side of Luke as they walked to the dance studio.  Jessie noticed that Lorelai was on her other side and, not wanting her to feel left out, took her hand as she had done with Luke's.

"Going to ballet class!" Jessie sang with no particular tune in mind.    

"We know," grouched Luke, getting more impatient by the minute.

"And here we are," smiled Lorelai as they arrived.

As they passed through the open doors, Miss Patty met them and said, "You made it!"

"Yep, we're here!" Jessie squeaked excitedly.

"All right!  The other girls are over there," Patty gestured to a huddled group of girls about her age.  Jessie skipped off and Patty turned to Luke and Lorelai.  "I'll take it from here," she said.  "Come back in one hour."

"You got it Patty.  Thanks," Luke said as he and Lorelai left.  

They descended the steps and came to a stop at the bottom of them.  "Thank you," Luke said quietly.  "You saved my life."

With a warm grin and a soft punch to his shoulder, Lorelai returned, "Well, it's a nice life."

"You want some coffee?"

Lorelai chuckled and said, "Silly man."

"Yeah," he nodded.  "Dumb question."

"You know," Lorelai said as they walked, "you're doing a really great job with her."

Luke paused to glance in her direction before asking, "You think?"

"I really do," she said sincerely.

"Thanks," he replied.  "Sometimes I wonder."

"What do you wonder?"

"Just stuff," Luke shrugged.  He was unsure about how much to tell her, but then decided to just let it all come out.  He needed to talk to someone.  "Lots and lots of stuff."

"Tell me," Lorelai demanded.

Luke stopped and sat down on a nearby park bench.  After a moment or two of silence, Lorelai joined him and said, "Really, Luke.  Talk to me."

"You don't ever want to say something bad about some you're related to," Luke began. 

"But…." prompted Lorelai.

"But," Luke continued reluctantly, "I don't think…I don't think I want Jessie to go back to living with Liz at the end of the summer."

"Go on," Lorelai said with a wrinkled forehead.

"You should hear the things she says sometimes," Luke went on, absently.  "She's eight years old.  She needs structure and guidance, not a mother who brings home a different guy every night.  She doesn't even have a real bedroom there, just a little corner that's blocked off by a sheet hung from the ceiling.  And another thing," he continued, getting worked up, "her language and grammar are abysmal, she needs to be surrounded by people who speak correctly, not those New York lowlifes who populate Liz's world."

Lorelai brought her hands up to rest on his bare forearm and said with understanding, "You're right.  All of those things are bad."

Luke met her eyes and confessed.  "I've been thinking about asking Liz to let Jessie stay."  
  
"Yeah?" repeated Lorelai with wide, concerned eyes.

He nodded.  "I worry about her all the time and I can't stop.  I worry that their apartment is infested with bugs.  I worry that she'll be coming home from school one day and get shot in some gangland killing because of where their apartment is located.  I worry that one day Liz'll bring home some guy who's into little girls," his face twisted into stark rage for half a second before he carefully buried it again and continued, "I worry that no one will like her at school next year and Liz will be too busy getting stoned with her friends to give a damn!"

"Okay," soothed Lorelai with a squeeze to the arm she was still holding.  

"I've started obsessing about all the horrible things that could go wrong for her," Luke confessed with wild eyes.  "Why can't I stop obsessing and worrying?"

"Luke, it's normal," Lorelai assured him quietly.

"How can feeling this sick to my stomach be _normal_?" he scoffed.

Lorelai gave a small chuckle and said, "That's what being a parent is all about.  You worry because you love them.  You imagine the worst-case scenario so that just in case it ever happens you've somehow prepared yourself for the utter wreck of a life you can expect yours to be from now on.  It's not easy, but there are benefits, too."

Luke gazed into her dark blue eyes and asked a little helplessly, "Like what?"

"Like walking to ballet class," Lorelai answered, leaning in a little and smiling.  "And butterscotch sundaes.  And bedtime TV.  And shopping for sheets."

Luke returned the smile, understanding what she meant and enjoying her company.  She really did understand.  "I know," he said softly.  

They stared at each other for a moment longer, her hands resting on his bare arm, the silky hair there gently tickling her fingertips.  Luke held his breath for a second and then decided to throw caution to the wind.  Slowly, he settled his other hand on top of hers and her eyes immediately widened at the additional contact.  Flustered, Lorelai broke the connection and looked away before asking casually, "Do you think Liz will say yes?"

"I don't know," Luke admitted, leaning back against the bench, feeling a little foolish.

"When are you going to ask her?"

"I don't know," he repeated, exhausted from his rant and the unspoken rejection.  

"Well, you've got time," Lorelai said nervously.  "She doesn't leave until the end of next month, right?"

"Mm hmm," Luke replied, feeling the by now familiar twinge in his heart that only happened when he thought about her leaving. 

"So there you go."

Standing, Luke took her hand and pulled her to her feet.  "Thanks," he said as they crossed the street to the diner.  "Let's get that coffee for you."

"Blessed man, I thought you'd never ask!" Lorelai replied feeling a little twinge of her own.  With one sentence he'd brought them back to where they'd been before.  Only they weren't really back there, they were just pretending to be.


	10. Chapter Ten

Disclaimer:  I don't own anything but the story idea.

A/N:  See Chapter One for full premise.  To sum up, this is an AU (Alternate Universe) in which Jess Mariano never existed.  In his place, Jessie Danes, daughter of Liz, has come to live with her Uncle Luke for the summer.  I am very pleased that so far people are enjoying this.  Reviews are **always** welcome, no matter how short or long (just in case you're reading and not reviewing…you know who you are).  A special thanks goes out to Lindsay for letting me bounce all my crazy ideas off of her.  This story would not be here without her.  Literally.  She had to talk me into posting it.  And another big thanks goes out to my new friend Sarah for taking the time to read drafts of recent chapters.

July:  Cowboys and Ballerinas

Chapter Ten

~~

When Luke arrived at the dance studio to pick Jessie up at seven, he found a very tired girl.  All the energy she'd had before the class had been burned away.  Patty sauntered up to Luke as he helped her put her shoes on.  "Luke, you're back.  No Lorelai?" she asked suggestively.

With an eye-roll that Jessie could be proud of, Luke looked up at Patty from the floor where he was with Jessie and said, "Lorelai went home.  She just helped me with Jess's hair earlier, that's why she was with us."

"Riiiiiiiight," Patty replied with a knowing smile. 

"Patty," Luke warned looking pinched.

"What?" she asked innocently.  "You're both adults.  If you can't figure it out on your own, the least you can do is accept a little push from those who love you."

Listening intently to their conversation, Jessie studied her uncle's features.  True to his word, Luke had never brought anyone home to spend the night and she was grateful.  But Patty was making it sound like there was something going on that she didn't know about.

"Leave it alone, Patty," Luke ordered before turning back to Jessie and finishing with the shoes.  "Let's go," he said, helping her to her feet.  

On their way back to the diner, Jessie pondered what they'd said.  She didn't understand it, but she knew it had something to do with Lorelai, figuring something out, pushing, and the people that love you.  With her hand safely tucked into his, they crossed the street and entered the diner.  For a Thursday evening it was dead and Luke had sent Lane home, leaving Caesar more than capable of handling whatever customers showed up.

Luke pushed the curtain back and Jessie ascended the steps quickly with Luke close behind.  She was still in her tights and leotard and her hair was still up in the bun, with soft tendrils trailing down around her ears and neck.  As they entered the apartment she looked up at her uncle and she saw that his face was still looking a little pinched.  

"Will you take my hair down?" she asked, heading for the couch.

"Sure," he answered, following her.  Luke sat down where Lorelai had seated herself, in fact, where he had been sitting before Lorelai had arrived, and allowed Jessie to stand between his knees as he slowly went through the bun and pulled out as many hair pins as he could find.  He found that they were much easier to take out than put in.

"So you had fun?" Luke finally asked, pushing his own distractions aside.

"Uh-huh!" Jessie chirped as she balanced one palm on each of his knees and kicked her legs out in front of her.  "It was really fun.  We learned all about first position and second position and then we pretended to be animals.  I got to be an elephant with a long trunk," she explained.

"Good," he said, wincing a little at the abuse she was giving his knees.  "I'm glad you enjoyed yourself."

"Uncle Luke?" she asked as he pulled the last pin out and undid the hair tie keeping the ponytail up.  He tousled his fingers through her hair and said warily, "Yeah?"  She never used his name unless she really had something to talk about.  Usually she just started a conversation with "Hey!" or "Guess what!"

"What did Miss Patty mean?"

"When?" he asked with no little suspicion.  Patty was famous for making all sorts of inappropriate remarks around the kids she taught.

"About Lorelai," Jessie said as she turned around with her hands on her hips.

"Lorelai?" he asked, the pinched look returning to his face.

"Yeah, she said you needed to be pushed by those who love you.  Pushing's not nice, though, is it?"

Luke heaved a sigh.  "Pushing is never nice," he confirmed, hoping she'd drop it.  

"So then why did Miss Patty say she was going to push you?"

"I don't know," Luke hedged.  He knew what Patty had meant, but there was no reason in the world to explain it to Jessie.

"She acted like Lorelai should be with you when you picked me up."

"You think so?" he asked warily, hands fidgeting in his lap.  

Jessie nodded.  "But I talked to Lorelai and she said she didn't want to be your girlfriend."

"What?  You did what??" Luke cried, astonished.  Gripping her shoulders in his hands, Luke fought the urge to shake her.  "What did you just say?" he asked in what he hoped was a calming voice.

Startled at his response, Jessie stammered, "I…I talked to Lorelai.  After the night I made her go home.  I felt bad so I told her that she could be your girlfriend as long as she didn't sleep over."

Closing his eyes, Luke took his hands from her shoulders and used them to cover his face as he tried _not_ to imagine how that conversation must have gone.  "Are you kidding?  This is a joke, right?" he voice was muffled behind his hands.

"No," she answered slowly, her brown eyes wide and troubled.  "I thought it was a good thing.  You like her, don't you?"

"Yes, I like her," Luke replied taking his hands away from his face and letting them rest lightly on his thighs.  "But you can't just…_tell_ people they can be my girlfriend."

"Why not?" she demanded.  "How else is it done?  And I didn't tell _everybody_ – just Lorelai."

"It's complicated," he began, "but at the very worst, the person who's actually going to _be_ the boyfriend should be the one _doing_ the asking."

"But, why?" Jessie asked, still not understanding what she did wrong.

"Look," he said, "women want to be wined and dined.  They want candles and music and flowers, okay?  I do not have that stuff, nor do I _want_ to have that stuff, so it's silly to even discuss.  Lorelai is my friend, yes, and I like her, yes, but that does not mean that she would ever want to be my girlfriend."

Jessie scrunched up her face, trying in vain to understand.  "That's what she said, too, but then what did Miss Patty mean?"  They were back where they started.

Luke stood, too impatient for words.  For years he'd been avoiding this subject with the townies and now he was embroiled in his own private hell, right here in his living room, courtesy of Miss Patty.  Considering his earlier conversation with Lorelai, he was in fact newly resolved not to ever pursue anything with regard to that subject.

"Look," he said, deciding to come clean, "Miss Patty and all the other crazies in this town think that Lorelai and I should date."

"Date?" Jessie asked, not understanding the concept.

"Yes, date," he confirmed.  "That's when you spend time with people of the opposite sex to see if you want to spend more time with them.  Eventually, if you're lucky, you find one person who you like enough that you want to spend all your time with them because you love them and you decide to be together forever.  It all starts with dating."

"So why don't you date Lorelai?" asked Jessie reasonably.  "You already know you like her."

"Because!" he exclaimed.  "Why would she _want_ to date me?  She comes from one of the best families in Hartford.  I'm just the diner man to her.  And besides, who says _I_ want to date _her_?"

"I don't know," Jessie shrugged.

"Okay, then," Luke replied with a "See?  There you have it" hand gesture. 

"But –"

"Argh!" Luke stopped her with one hand up.  "This subject is closed.  Forever.  Understood?"

With a deep sigh of complete incomprehension, Jessie nodded and said glumly, "Understood."

"Good, now go take your shower and we'll get some dessert."

Her face lit up.  "Really?"

"Really, now go before I change my mind," he ordered.

Jessie quickly ran off to the bathroom and Luke sank down onto the couch again, leaned his head back and covered his eyes with one hand.  That hadn't gone so badly.  He'd explained what needed to be explained, forbidden her to ever mention it again, and then distracted her with dessert.  If he were lucky, this would be the last he heard of it.


	11. Chapter Eleven

Disclaimer:  I don't own anything but the story idea.

A/N:  See Chapter One for full premise.  To sum up, this is an AU (Alternate Universe) in which Jess Mariano never existed.  In his place, Jessie Danes, daughter of Liz, has come to live with her Uncle Luke for the summer.  I am very pleased that so far people are enjoying this.  Reviews are **always** welcome, no matter how short or long (just in case you're reading and not reviewing…you know who you are).  One of you mentioned that a great writer like me shouldn't need reviews and to that I say this:  insecurities plague us all and I am no different.  When I post a story I immediately think people are going to hate it, no matter how many of my friends have read it and said they like it.  So, please, indulge me if you will and let me know what you think.  I really, really appreciate it.  Thank you to all of you have been reviewing.  It does mean a lot.  A special thanks goes out to Lindsay for letting me bounce all my crazy ideas off of her.  This story would not be here without her.  Literally.  She had to talk me into posting it.  And another big thanks goes out to my new friend Sarah for taking the time to read drafts of recent chapters.

July:  Cowboys and Ballerinas

Chapter Eleven

~~

Jessie sank her pitchfork into the pile of hay and manure at her feet as Joe, the man who took care of the horses at the Dragonfly, lifted his own pitchfork and tossed the load into a nearby wheelbarrow.  The barn smelled good in the hot July afternoon - warm, clean and earthy.  Jessie's arms wobbled a little and sweat beaded on her forehead as she tried to maintain her balance with the heavy tool.  To repay Lorelai for letting her ride whenever the horses weren't with the guests, Jessie had volunteered to help out around the barn whenever she was there.  It was kind of fun, actually.  She got to brush the horses, feed them, water them and give them treats.  In addition, she also helped keep the stalls clean.  Ladling the latest pile of dung into the wheelbarrow as Joe looked to make sure she didn't overdo it, Jessie puffed a little as she worked.  Her hair was tied back into a pony tail and her backwards baseball cap kept the sweat out of her eyes, but she was still winded from the exercise.

She had come downstairs for breakfast just as Lorelai had arrived and they'd eaten together, chatted about ballet class the night before and then headed for the Dragonfly.  Luke had eyed the pair warily, but felt fairly certain that he'd made his point.  He prayed Jessie wouldn't say anything else to Lorelai.  He still cringed to think of what she'd said already.  He'd had some trouble looking Lorelai in the eye that morning.  You can be his girlfriend as long as you don't sleep over.  Mother of God, as if he weren't pathetic enough with that stupid hand move yesterday.  

In the Dragonfly's barn, Jessie was shoveling her last load into the wheelbarrow when she heard someone call her name.

Lifting her head to try to see over the stall door, Jessie yelled back, "Yeah?"

Rory came into view, rounding the corner to smile in and say, "It's lunchtime.  Sookie set up some sandwiches for us on the front porch.  Are you hungry?"

"Yeah!" Jess said with an enthusiastic nod.  

After saying goodbye to Joe and making a pit stop to wash her hands, Jessie followed Rory to the porch where Sookie had indeed created a feast for them.  

As they settled onto the wicker furniture to eat, Rory chuckled as Jessie attacked her food.  Once the sandwiches were gone and they were working on the cookies for dessert, Jessie sat back and asked Rory thoughtfully, "Do you date?"

"Um," Rory faltered, a little confused, "I _have_ dated, but I'm not dating anyone right now.  Why?"

"Uncle Luke says that you date people to see if you like them," Jessie offered by way of an off-hand explanation.

"That's true," Rory concurred, still confused.  "What brought this on?"

Jessie chewed on her gingersnap cookie as she pondered the situation.  "I just don't understand why you don't date someone if you _already_ like them," she finally confessed.

Rory didn't have to think very hard to figure out whom Jessie was talking about.  With a delicate shrug of her shoulders, Rory answered, "Sometimes it's best to leave well enough alone."

With a huge eye-roll, Jessie decided to call 'em as she saw 'em.  "That's stupid.  They already like each other.  I don't understand what the big deal is."

"You and everyone else in this town," snorted Rory.  "They've both been in denial for so long that it's become a way of life."

Jessie kicked her feet out in front of her thoughtfully.  "Denial?" she asked with pursed lips.

Catching herself, Rory shook her head and said, "Nothing.  Finish your cookies and I'll take you home."

At the request, Jessie happily stuffed the last of her cookie into her mouth and stood up.  The walk back to the diner was slow due to the oppressive heat and when they arrived they were both sweaty.

Luke looked up as they entered and he nodded at them from across the room as they made their way to a table.  Kirk, who'd been at the counter having pie, immediately stood and made a hasty exit.  "'At's my girl," Luke muttered happily as he arrived at their table.  

"Hey, Rory," he said as he joined them.  "Can I get you anything?"

With a shake of her head Rory stood up and said, "I've dinner with my grandparents tonight so I should get home and get ready."

"Bye Rory," Jessie called to her as Rory waved and left the diner.

Turning from the door to his niece, Luke observed affectionately, "You're filthy."

"I helped clean the stalls today," Jessie told him proudly.

Luke regarded her with a twitch of his lips.  She was tanned and healthy looking.  Her skin glowed from sweat and she was not as lean as she'd been when they had first met.  Her hair was thicker and shiny and she smiled more.  Right now she was pretty grubby looking but she carried herself differently.  She had more confidence.  She was thriving.  He felt proud, too.

"How 'bout a shower?" he suggested.

"Okay," Jessie agreed as she stood and headed for the stairs. 

After cleaning up, Jessie pulled her bag of library books from the corner of her room and sorted through them, looking for something new.  She and Luke were halfway through _Charlotte's Web_ and she wanted to leave that for them to finish.  She needed something just for her to read.  

Immediately, Jessie came across one of Rory's countless recommendations:  _Ramona and Her Mother_, by Beverly Cleary.  The apartment was quiet and cool and Jessie settled down on her bed to happily read for a few hours.  

After an hour of giggling over Ramona's adventures, Jessie pensively wondered what her own mother was doing.  They hadn't seen each other in almost six weeks.  She wondered if Jerry was still around.  She wondered if Jerry would ever meet her Uncle Luke.  If they ever did meet she hoped that Uncle Luke would pound on Jerry.  Jessie took a moment to picture the scene in her head.  Pound him to a pulp.  That would be fun to watch.  She would cheer Uncle Luke on from the sidelines.  

But Uncle Luke was acting so strangely over this Lorelai business, she thought with a frown.  She couldn't believe his outburst last night.  Jessie never dreamed that his feelings would be so strong.  For the first time, there was a subject that was taboo and it made her feel…separated from him.   They used to be able to talk about anything and now there was this wedge between them…this weird silence.  

Her eyes drifted down to the cover of the book.  Ramona was standing with her back to a bathroom sink filled with swirls and curlicues of toothpaste.  Her mother was looking on with a horrified expression while Ramona tried to hide the evidence.  Jessie smiled and again wondered what her own mother was doing.  She also wondered vaguely what denial was.

Later, when Luke came up to get her for dinner, Jessie followed him downstairs still wearing a contemplative expression.  As he placed a plate of broiled fish, green beans and scalloped potatoes in front of her, she lifted her eyes and curled her lip.  "Fish?" she asked with a grimace.

"Yeah," he said, "fish.  Something wrong with fish?"

"Nothing except that it's _gross_.  It smells like a lake," she told him with a matter-of-fact scowl.

"It's good for you," Luke argued patiently.

"It's gross." Jessie repeated, pushing the plate away.  Then, "I want to call my mom."

Startled, Luke blinked but recovered quickly.  "Have you heard from her?"  Jessie had been very quiet upstairs all afternoon and now he worried that perhaps Liz had tried to get in touch with her.

"No," Jessie replied petulantly.

"But you want to call her."

"Yes," she said firmly, unable to meet his gaze.

Slowly, Luke pushed her plate back toward her and said, "Okay.  Eat your dinner and then we'll go call."

Surprised at how easy that had been, Jessie's dark brown eyes fluttered up to his and found him staring at her intently.  She squirmed a little under his gaze and looked away as she picked up her fork.  He watched silently as she took a few bites before leaving to check on the other diners.

As he refilled Andrew's coffee cup, Luke pondered this new development.  Of course he couldn't forbid her to call her mother, but he worried that it would only end badly.  _He_ hadn't even heard from Liz since he'd called to get the clothes from her back in June.  She hadn't even called to check in and see how her daughter was doing.

Concerned, he hazarded a glance at Jessie's back.  She was hunched over her plate eating.  Frowning, Luke took Andrew's empty plate and made his way into the kitchen.  The person who usually made him feel better about stuff like this was Lorelai and she was probably on her way to her parent's house.  Not that she would be interested in listening to him rant again after last night.

What an idiot I am, he thought as he tossed the dishes into the bussing bin.  Pressing his lips into a firm line, he left the kitchen and busied himself with his customers until he saw that Jessie had finished.  

Just as Jessie put down her fork Uncle Luke appeared before her to take the plate away.  She looked up at him and saw his lips twitch as if he were trying not to say something.  "Ready?" was all he could get out.

Nodding, Jessie hopped down off the stool and headed for the stairs walking with more confidence that she felt.  Suddenly it didn't sound like such a good idea.  Ramona's mother lived with her and made her dinner and was married to her father.  These differences suddenly seemed too big.  Unwilling to admit that she might be wrong about this venture, Jessie walked determinedly up the steps listening to Uncle Luke's steady footfalls behind her.  

In the apartment Jessie headed for the phone and with little outward hesitation, picked it up.  Luke sat at the kitchen table with his hands folded in front of him and apprehension clearly written across his face.  Jessie turned her back to him as she dialed the familiar numbers.

As she heard the line ring, she suddenly hoped that her mother wouldn't be home.  That the answering machine would pick up so that she could leave a message.  As the phone rang again, she thought about just hanging up.  She felt her heart rate speed up as she seriously considered cutting her losses.  Just as she was about to hastily put the phone back into its cradle a familiar voice filled her ear.  "Hello," Liz answered.

Jessie hesitated, not knowing what to say at first.  "Hello?" Liz repeated, annoyed.

"Mom?" Jessie said.  "It's me."

"Jessie?"  With a smile, Jessie relished her mother's voice and felt a deep pang in her chest.  She missed her mother.  Sure, she wasn't perfect, but Jessie had spent the better part of eight years with her and in that kind of time, anything can grow on you.

Happily, Jessie gushed, "Yeah, it's me!  I miss you, how are you?  Do you wanna come for a visit soon?"

"Visit?" Liz repeated with a snort of laughter.  "Jess, I _lived_ there, remember?"  

"Oh," Jessie said, deflated.  "Well…could I come for a visit?" she asked, her voice sounding small even to her.  As she waited for the answer, Jessie held onto the receiver for dear life and concentrated on twisting the phone cord around the index finger of her right hand.  

"Jessie," Liz began with a tired sigh.  "I need a break, okay?  I mean, I'm not just your mother, I'm someone's girlfriend.  I want to be on my own this summer."

"You're not alone," Jessie muttered.

"Oh, that's just great," Liz burst out.  "Are you judging me?  Because that would just be perfect.  I finally have a chance to be happy and what do you do?  You come whining back to me.  I mean, I need some space!"

Sucking air in through her nose, Jessie tried not to cry.  "Okay," she mumbled and put the phone back into its cradle.  She didn't care that she hadn't said a proper goodbye.  Her face crumpled as she hung up the phone, tears sliding down her cheeks and dropping with some speed to the floor.  

Luke sat at the kitchen table and stared at her back with clenched fists and a pained expression.  It hadn't sounded like it had gone well from what he'd heard Jessie say, but he didn't want to get all up in her face either and make something out of nothing if it was indeed nothing.  As she turned toward him, though, he saw that she was just barely able to maintain her composure.  Her eyes were closed tight and her mouth was turned down, but the tears were already slipping down her face.  With shoulders stooped and head down Jessie took a few steps toward him and he immediately stood and met her half way.  Kneeling down, Luke pulled her into a soft hug.  As she gently sobbed into his shoulder he just rubbed her back feeling helpless and angry.  Whatever Liz had said, he wished she hadn't.  


	12. Chapter Twelve

Disclaimer:  I don't own anything but the story idea.

A/N:  See Chapter One for full premise.  To sum up, this is an AU (Alternate Universe) in which Jess Mariano never existed.  In his place, Jessie Danes, daughter of Liz, has come to live with her Uncle Luke for the summer.  I am very pleased that so far people are enjoying this.  Reviews are **always** welcome, no matter how short or long (just in case you're reading and not reviewing…you know who you are).  Thank you to all of you have been reviewing.  It does mean a lot.  A special thanks goes out to Lindsay for letting me bounce all my crazy ideas off of her.  This story would not be here without her.  Literally.  She had to talk me into posting it.  And another big thanks goes out to my new friend Sarah for taking the time to read drafts of recent chapters.

July:  Cowboys and Ballerinas

Chapter Twelve

~~

Eventually, Luke sat down against the wall that Jessie had been facing during her phone call and pulled her into his lap.  She cried softly against his flannel chest and he pulled her backwards baseball cap off so that he could cradle her head with one hand while the other rubbed her back.  His shirt was caught up in her two little fists and at one point he was fairly sure she used it as a Kleenex.  

After some time, Jessie slowly stopped crying and began sniffling and hiccupping.  She stayed still, though, feeling exhausted and almost immobile.  

"Feel better?" Luke whispered.

Jessie nodded, not yet able to speak.

"You're going to wash this shirt when we're done here," Luke told her.  She cracked a watery small smile and looked up at his face.  "You think I'm kidding?" he asked, giving her an affectionate squeeze.

Jessie smiled a little wider and replied, "Nuh-uh.  I'm sad.  You don't have to do chores when you're sad."

"Ohh," he laughed.  "Is that what the rule is?"

She nodded against his chest and let go of his shirt.  Wiping her eyes and nose with the back of one hand, Jessie shifted and said, "Sometimes I don't like my mom."

"I know," Luke said, feeling much more than just dislike for Liz.

"Did you like your mom?"

"Yeah, I did," he admitted quietly.  "But she died when I was little so we never really had a chance to fight about stuff."

"That's right," Jessie nodded, remembering that her mother's mother had died.  "I forgot.  And grandpa died, too."

"Yep," Luke said with just a hint of the sadness he still felt over their deaths.

A silence crept in around them as each sat with their own thoughts.  Jessie was thinking that the weird wedge between them wasn't there anymore.  Instead of feeling separated, she felt very close to her uncle.  She wondered why he and her mother were so different.  She wondered if all brothers and sisters were this different.  She wondered if all mothers were like her mother.  No, she immediately thought.  Sookie wasn't like that.  She doted over Davey as if he were the most precious thing in the world to her.

And Lorelai wasn't like that, either.  Rory and she were best friends.  They did everything together.  Thinking of Lorelai, Jessie remembered a question she'd had earlier.  "What's 'denial'?" she suddenly asked.

"Huh?" Luke responded, torn from his own reverie.  "What's what?"

"Denial," Jessie repeated.

Luke blew out his breath and looked up at the ceiling.  "Um…denial is when you…or, wait.  It's when you _don't_ admit something that's true."

"So it's like lying?" 

"No, not quite.  Denial is when you don't admit something that's true just to _yourself_," he clarified.  "Nobody else is involved.  It's just you." 

"Oh.  So, but you're still lying to yourself, though, right?"

"Well, yeah, but it's not the same thing as _telling_ a lie," he explained.

"Hmmm," Jessie replied.

She was still cuddled on his lap, leaning her cheek against the soft flannel.  She could hear his heart beating slow, steady and rhythmic.  "Uncle Luke?"

"Mm hmm?" he rumbled under her ear.

"Can I have some ice cream?"

Chuckling softly, he asked, "Is that another rule?  You can eat horrible things as long as you're sad?"

Jessie's dark eyes lifted up to smile at him as she nodded and said, "Uh huh."

"Okay," Luke agreed, lifting her up to a standing position.  "Just help me up.  I'm not as young as you."

Smiling a little, Jessie wrapped her hands around one of his and helped tug him upward.  Groaning, Luke complained, "Ah, the knees…the knees don't work as well as they used to."

"You're old," she told him with a straight face.

"Older but wiser," he told her.

"Wiser?"

"Yeah," Luke said as he pulled open the freezer door and got out the ice cream.  Rather than running down to the diner whenever she wanted dessert, it just seemed easier to keep a carton of it upstairs.

Jessie seated herself at the kitchen table still sniffling a little.  Her eyes were red and puffy but she seemed to have forgotten for the moment that her mother had just completely let her down.

Luke set a bowl of vanilla ice cream in front of her and then put the jar of butterscotch topping on the table.  "I can put it on myself?" she asked him with wide eyes.

He nodded.  "Just don't go too crazy with it."

Jessie unscrewed the cap and tipped the jar over her bowl.  Slowly the gooey syrup rolled toward the lip and onto her ice cream.  When she looked up from dousing her ice cream, Luke was sitting across from her with a bowl of his own.

"You're having some, too?" she asked, incredulous.

"I'm living on the edge," Luke said with an arched eyebrow.

Jessie gave him an ice cream smile.  "Keep it in your mouth," he warned, remembering that time with Lorelai.  She slurped it back in and swallowed.

Jessie, who'd also been thinking of that time with Lorelai, asked, "Uncle Luke?"

Here we go, Luke thought before replying suspiciously, "Yeah?"

"If Lorelai said she wanted to date you, would you want to date her?"

Luke gaped at her. Choose your words carefully, he told himself.  "You mean if Lorelai asked me out on a date?"

"Yeah."

"If she asked me out, it would be rude for me to say no.  But," he added at her raised eyebrows, "there is _no_ way she'd ever ask me out."

"How come?"

"Because," Luke said simply.

"Because why?"

"Just because," he answered, getting impatient.

Jessie sighed.  She was getting nowhere with this.  Taking another spoonful of ice cream, she decided to let things alone for tonight.  "What should we do now?" she asked.

"I need to call downstairs and make sure they've got things covered, but then I was thinking we could play some Go Fish."

"Okay," she chirped.

Luke stood and walked to the phone Jessie had abandoned.  After calling to make sure that Lane had shown up for her shift and that they were okay, he hung up and got out his deck of cards.

Back at the kitchen table, they played cards for a few hours and Jessie won five hands out of eight.  After getting ready for bed, they watched Bedtime TV for half an hour and then, because Jessie hadn't fallen asleep yet, they went into her room to read more of _Charlotte's Web_.  In the dim shadows of her bedroom, Jessie settled under her blankets and listened to the soft rumble of her uncle's voice.  Its resonance had come to mean security and stability and as she fell asleep listening to its rise and fall, Jessie felt his fingers drift down to stroke her temple softly.  In the last few moments of coherence, she shifted closer to him and mumbled softly, "Love you."  


	13. Chapter Thirteen

Disclaimer:  I don't own anything but the story idea.

A/N:  See Chapter One for full premise.  To sum up, this is an AU (Alternate Universe) in which Jess Mariano never existed.  In his place, Jessie Danes, daughter of Liz, has come to live with her Uncle Luke for the summer.  I am very pleased that so far people are enjoying this.  Reviews are **always** welcome, no matter how short or long (just in case you're reading and not reviewing…you know who you are).  Thank you to all of you have been reviewing.  It does mean a lot.  A special thanks goes out to Lindsay for letting me bounce all my crazy ideas off of her.  This story would not be here without her.  Literally.  She had to talk me into posting it.  And another big thanks goes out to my new friend Sarah for taking the time to read drafts of recent chapters.

July:  Cowboys and Ballerinas

Chapter Thirteen

~~

The next morning, Luke was downstairs delivering a plate of pancakes to Babette when Lorelai came in on her way to the Dragonfly.  Seeing him across the room, she smiled in his direction and headed for the counter.

Luke made his way over to Lorelai and mutely poured her a cup of coffee.  He was still upset over last night's phone call to Liz and had been brooding all morning.  In addition to this irritation, Jessie had slipped into bed with him last night like usual, but instead of staying on her side of the bed, she'd stuck close all night long.  It was almost reminiscent of the days before they'd gotten the bigger bed and he was a little cranky over not having gotten the space he'd grown accustomed to.  

And on top of all _that_, this was the first one-on-one interaction he'd had with Lorelai since his Stupid Hand Move, which is what he'd begun calling it in his head.  

"Morning, Luke!" Lorelai sang out, hoping she sounded normal.  Although she had been trying not to think about the Scary Touching of Ballet Thursday, as she'd come to think of the incident, it was something that wouldn't leave her alone.  In fact, she'd been replaying the scene in her head quite a bit, and kept coming up with the same question:  good touch or bad touch?  

"Mornin'," Luke grumped back, in no mood for her usual shenanigans.  He finished pouring, tried to avoid eye contact and was prepared to leave her when she observed casually, "You look awful."

"I love it when women say that to me," he replied, before he could stop himself.

Lorelai blinked and then laughed, recalling her words to him when she'd invited him over to watch Casablanca.  "Sorry, it just looks like you had a rough night."  She looked around for Jessie and when she didn't see her asked, "Is everything okay?"

With a deep sigh, Luke shook his head and shrugged, uncomfortable dumping more on her than he already had.  "Yeah, fine," he said trying to brush her off with a wave of his hand.

"Luke," Kirk interrupted from a table a few feet away.  "My girlfriend and I are ready to order."

"I'll be right there, Kirk," Luke snapped and walked away from Lorelai.  Again Lorelai blinked as she stared at Luke's flannel back walking away.  "Humph," she muttered as she brought the coffee mug to her lips.  Later, when Luke came back to take her breakfast order and Jessie had not come downstairs yet, she tried again. "Jess is sleeping in today, huh?"

Luke's mouth twisted into something she couldn't quite read as he said, "Yeah, we had some drama last night."

"More fighting?" Lorelai asked playfully, hoping to joke him out of his mood.

"Nah, it was more…just family stuff," he told her.  "You ready to order?"

"Um, yeah, the pancakes with bacon."

"'kay," he mumbled as he wrote it up and walked away.  Truly stumped now, Lorelai was past caring about the awkwardness between them.  "Hey!" she called to him as he came back from the kitchen.

He turned, with his eyebrows raised and said, "Yeah?"

"Come here," she ordered.

He walked back over to where Lorelai sat and said, "What?"

"What's going on?  What family stuff?  Did you talk to her about staying?"  Lorelai's eyes showed concern and Luke suddenly felt guilty for not coming clean right away.

"No, nothing like that," he admitted.  With a noisy exhale, Luke crossed his arms over his chest and explained, "Jessie asked if she could call Liz and it just didn't go very well."

Lorelai's concern deepened and she leaned forward to say softly, "Oh, no.  What happened?"

"The usual," Luke scoffed angrily.  "Jessie was excited and happy one second and a complete mess the next.  I still don't know what Liz said to her but Jessie isn't one to cry and I'm telling you…" he paused here searching for the words, "…it just…it was awful," he finished with a small mirthless laugh.

"Luke, I'm so sorry," Lorelai whispered sympathetically.

"Forget it," he replied, remembering himself at last and feeling embarrassed for confessing what his father would surely classify as too much.  "Your order should be up soon," he said gruffly as he walked away.

Lorelai again watched him go and frowned thoughtfully as she traced her index finger around the rim of her mug.  She was still a little weirded out, but she was more worried about Luke and Jessie.  As if bidden by her thoughts, Lorelai looked up to see Jessie rounding the corner from the curtained area.  Her hair was tangled and her eyes were still a little puffy, but she was dressed in shorts, a t-shirt and her old sneakers.  

"Morning, Jess," Lorelai said, smiling.

"Hey," Jessie answered, climbing up onto the stool next to hers.

"How you doing?" asked Lorelai kindly, wanting to give Jessie the opportunity to talk if she needed to, but not wanting to demand information.

"Okay," she answered sleepily.

Lorelai tried to surreptitiously look Jessie over to make sure that she really was okay.  The only thing she noticed was that her toes were practically popping out the fronts of her battered sneakers.  "Time for some new shoes, huh?" Lorelai asked kindly.

Jessie looked down and frowned.  She'd been wearing these shoes since the beginning of last school year and yeah they were a little tight, but it didn't seem nice for Lorelai to point out how crummy they looked.  "I guess so," she shrugged, eyebrows creased.

Behind them, suddenly came a yelp and they turned to see that Kirk had finally noticed Jessie sitting there.  "Lulu, you get the check and have them make it a to-go order.  I'll wait outside," he said in a high-pitched voice while trying not to make eye contact.  Quickly he high-tailed it out of there.

They watched him go as Luke came out of the kitchen and approached them.  "Hey, Jess," he said gently.  "Sleep okay?"

"Yeah," she said slowly and with a yawn.  "Can I have French toast?"

"Sure, I'll go put the order in," Luke answered as he poured her some juice.

Lorelai gaped at them.  Luke never let her eat like that.  Junk food on a plate is what he called it.  Must've really been a bad scene last night.  "Hey, Luke," she said suddenly. 

He glanced up at her and said, "Yeah?"

"Um, the clog in the bathtub is back.  Could you come over later and have a look?" 

"Sure, Lane is coming in for the lunch shift.  Jess and I'll stop over sometime after eleven-thirty."

"Great," Lorelai smiled.  Then, as if it had just occurred to her, she added, "Hey, you know what?  Rory was going shopping later on today.  Why doesn't Jessie go with her?  Get some new shoes?  Some clothes?  Girl time.  Could be fun," she finished brightly.

"Shopping?  She's eight.  You really think I want to get her into shopping now?  It'll happen soon enough, I'm sure," he said with a roll of his eyes.

"Yeah, but Luke, look at her shoes," Lorelai pointed out.

Luke came around to the other side of the counter and for the first time noticed his niece's shoes.  They looked like they hurt her feet.  "How long have you needed new shoes?" he asked Jessie sternly.  

Shrugging, Jessie said, "Mommy said we'd get new ones when school was over, but then I came here."

Drawing himself upright again, Luke said, "Okay, you go with Rory today and get some new shoes – wait, Lorelai, does Rory even know how to buy shoes for kids?"

"It's the same as buying shoes for adults, Luke.  You find a size that fits and you purchase them."

"Alright, fine," he agreed.  "Jess, does that sound okay to you?  I'd take you shoe-shopping but I'd rather stick a fork in my eye."

This elicited a giggle and Jessie nodded.  "Okay."

"While they're out you can come by, then?" Lorelai asked.

Luke stared at her for a second before saying with a quick nod, "Sure, I'll be there."

"Great."

True to her word, Rory was waiting for them when Luke and Jessie arrived at Lorelai's.  The heat was still oppressive, but they managed the walk in a little under five minutes.  After giving Rory some money and making sure that Jessie would behave herself, the two adults watched their two kids drive off.

"So, show me this drain you've got," Luke said as he picked Bert up off the ground where he'd been resting while they said goodbye.

"Yeah," Lorelai said, "here's the thing.  I sort of lied."

"What?" he asked.  "You sort of what?"

"I lied," she repeated.

"Why would you lie?" Luke demanded.

"Because you wouldn't talk to me at the diner."

The air between them felt very cramped and tight and they were both thinking of the reason why he wouldn't talk to her at the diner.  "So you're saying that whenever I don't voluntarily include you in my life you'll trick me into somehow forcing me to?"

"Not quite," she said, "but listen.  You looked really bad this morning and I wanted to make sure you know that you can always talk to me.  No matter what."

"Thanks," he said sarcastically.  "It's good to know, too, that even if I _don't_ want to talk to you, I have to, anyway."

"That's not what this is about," she argued.

"Well, what is it about, then?" he snapped, frustrated.

"It's about you and Jessie.  Raising kids is hard.  I know because I've been there, but you don't have to do it all on your own, you know?"

Luke just shook his head and glanced away.  She didn't get it.  He was _totally_ alone.  No matter how much she argued the contrary, there was only so much he could share with her.  She was, after all, just his friend.

"I'm sorry," Lorelai said when he didn't respond.  "I shouldn't have lied to you."  She edged toward her front porch and offered, "Can I get you some iced tea?  As a peace offering?"

Luke looked at her again and realized that he was sweating through his t-shirt.  "Okay," he relented.  Who was he kidding after all?  He could never stay mad at her.  She disappeared into the house and he walked over to the porch steps.

Sinking down to sit on the top step, he methodically unbuttoned his flannel shirt and peeled it over his shoulders.  The dark blue t-shirt underneath traced the heat of his body in a dark strip down the center of his back.  He could feel the ends of his hair curl with sweat and he made a mental note to get a hair cut.  He hated when his hair got long enough to curl when wet.  

As she came back outside, Luke thought he heard Lorelai suck in a deep breath of air behind him and he turned.  Her face was flushed.  Handing over his glass of tea, she pressed her own glass against her temple and sat down next to him.    

"So," she said when she'd settled herself beside him.

"So," he replied quietly.

Lorelai propped an elbow on her knee and settled her chin in her palm as she tilted her head to give him a side-long look.  He looked…good.  Why did he look so good to her?  Damn that Jessie, anyway.  Lorelai took a big gulp of tea.  She needed cooling off.  "Are you still thinking about asking Liz to let her stay?"

He nodded thoughtfully as he said slowly, "Yeah, the more I think about it – and after last night…" he trailed off with a small shrug of his shoulders and a twist of his lips at the thought of Liz.  He took several sips of tea and tried to concentrate on the here and now.  He could worry about Liz later.  In fact, he'd have to worry about Liz later.  Right now he needed to worry about mopping is sweaty neck.  Even as he thought it, Luke took his discarded flannel, wadded it up and swabbed it across the back of his neck.

"Hot out," Lorelai observed, watching him.

"Uh huh," he replied with his eyes closed as he tried to reach.

"Here," she said.  "Let me."  Lorelai took the shirt from him and finished drying the back of his neck.  She'd had to lift the bill of baseball cap up a little bit to do it, but when she was finished, she fished an ice cube out of her drink and carefully let it glide across his skin.  Back and forth on the tanned flesh she watched as the cube left trickles of water behind it.  Startled at the initial contact, Luke jumped a little and then shivered.  Glancing quickly up at her he found that she was concentrating on the ice cube with a furrowed her brow and puckered lips.  God how he wanted…stop, he told himself with a sigh that he hoped wasn't too obvious.  

"Feel better?" she asked softly, noting that his head had dropped down to give her complete access to the sensitive area.

"Yeah," he whispered, barely audible.  Lorelai leaned toward him further and took the ice cube into her palm so that the ice was pressed between his neck and her hand, and let her fingers dip down below his t-shirt line.  Further and further she edged into his shirt, each time feeling him tense a little as the frigid cube made contact with his wet, hot skin.  With deep concentration she slowly allowed the ice to melt between them and she let the tips of her fingers slide along his bare skin as the ice got thinner and thinner.

Luke's skin wasn't the only part of him that was going haywire.  If she kept this up much longer he'd need to put the flannel shirt in his lap to save him from embarrassment.  What was she doing to him?  And why now?  After the awkwardness of the Stupid Hand Move and the way she'd clearly been thrown by it, why was she doing this?  Was it all just a game to her?  Behind his tightly closed lids all he could picture was the look of concentration on her face as she slowly bathed his body one meticulous stroke at a time.  He couldn't take it anymore.  But, the other side of his brain said, when will you ever get another chance like this?  Enjoy it.  See where it goes.

Where it goes? he replied.  It'll go with me leaving and her meeting another jackass.  Only this time, she'll probably marry the jerk.  So, make her realize that that would be a bad decision, the reasonable part of his brain said.  Oh, sure, he answered.  Just look up and say, Hey, I know this might be coming outta left field, but is there any chance at all that you might want to spend the rest of your life with me?  Yeah, I'm sure that'll go over big.  Before he could come up with a reasonable reply, Lorelai's arm dipped so low into his shirt that she was up to her elbow.  He shuddered as the droplets of icy water trickled down to the small of his back.  Jesus, she was killing him.  

"Why are you doing this?" he finally asked, knowing that if she went much further he'd be in danger of losing what shred of control he had left.

Sure enough, this broke the spell and Lorelai pulled away and tossed the almost-gone ice cube nonchalantly into the nearby grass.  "You looked hot," she answered with a shrug.

Grimacing a little, Luke pulled back, too, and said, "I'm surprised you haven't complained about the smell yet.  Sweat ain't pretty."

"Yeah, I was just about to mention that," she answered.  In truth, the scent had been a little intoxicating.  Sure, it was sweat but the musky tanginess hadn't been offensive at all, it had been…stimulating.  Damn that Jessie.  Now that the piece of double chocolate cake was sitting on her front steps for the taking, she just wasn't ready to rationalize the calorie intake.  Looking away, she joked, "I could probably come up with something for you to fix if you're bored."

"Nah, I should get back," he replied, let down.

"Oh," she answered, feeling it, too.  "Yeah, you're probably right.  I'll send Rory over with Jessie when they get back."

"Okay, thanks," Luke said, rising to his feet.  He drained the glass of iced tea, relished the clinking of the ice within it, and handed it to Lorelai who took it with a small smile.  

"See you later," she said, waving.

"Bye," Luke answered, taking Bert and his wadded up flannel and leaving her on the steps.  Lorelai watched him walk away and wondered why she felt so empty.


	14. Chapter Fourteen

Disclaimer:  I don't own anything but the story idea.  Oh, wait.  I own Jessie.

A/N:  See Chapter One for full premise.  To sum up, this is an AU (Alternate Universe) in which Jess Mariano never existed.  In his place, Jessie Danes, daughter of Liz, has come to live with her Uncle Luke for the summer.  I am very pleased that so far people are enjoying this.  Reviews are **always** welcome, no matter how short or long (just in case you're reading and not reviewing…you know who you are).  Thank you to all of you have been reviewing.  It does mean a lot.  A special thanks goes out to Lindsay for letting me bounce all my crazy ideas off of her.  This story would not be here without her.  Literally.  She had to talk me into posting it.  And another big thanks goes out to my new friend Sarah for taking the time to read drafts of recent chapters.

July:  Cowboys and Ballerinas

Chapter Fourteen

~~

Rory pulled in to the mammoth parking lot of the Hartford Mall and found a parking spot.  Pulling the key from the ignition, she turned to Jessie and said, "New shoes, here we come."

Jessie smiled back but rolled her eyes a little when Rory wasn't looking.  Grown ups could be so corny.  They got out of the car and walked toward the main doors.  An hour later Rory was staring dubiously at Jessie's feet.  "Are you sure these are the ones you want?"

"Totally!" Jessie replied enthusiastically.  "Aren't they _cool_?"

Rory laughed and took in the pink Converse sneakers.The white rubber across the toes was blindingly white.  They wouldn't have been her first choice, but who was she to argue with an eight-year-old's self-esteem?  

"Do you wanna wear them home?" she inquired.

Jessie's eyes lit up even more, if that were possible.  "Can I?"

"Sure, let's go pay for 'em and then get some lunch."  Jessie skipped happily behind Rory to the checkout and waited for Rory to pay.  As they left the store, Jessie carried the bag with her old shoes safely tucked into the new shoebox.  Feeling almost weightless in her brand new pink shoes, she danced around Rory as they headed for the food court.

"Are you hungry?" Rory asked once they'd arrived.

"_Starving_," Jessie replied dramatically, opening her arms wide to drive the point home.

"Good, me, too," Rory answered.  They proceeded to stand in several lines and when they finally found a table big enough for all their trays they were grateful to sit down.  Before them was a smorgasbord of Chinese food, tacos, nachos, burgers, regular fries, curly fries, gyros, and various drinks.

As they ate, amid moans and groans of culinary ecstasy, they pointed and laughed at each other whenever a stray spot of ketchup or hot sauce appeared on a face or article of clothing.  "This is way better than eating with Uncle Luke," Jessie confessed.

"Yeah?" Rory smiled.  "I'm glad you're enjoying yourself."

"Your bathtub should clog up every day!" Jessie giggled.

"What?" Rory asked in confusion.

"Your bathtub is clogged so Uncle Luke went over to fix it while you and I came shopping," Jessie explained as she reached for another fry.

"Our tub isn't clogged," Rory said, frowning.

"Yuh-huh," Jessie answered reasonably, not yet understanding the significance.

"No, I used it this morning."

"Why would your mom lie?" Jessie asked sensibly before realizing the possibilities.

They stared at each other.  Suddenly Jessie felt shy and uncomfortable.  "Do you think they're…you know…."

"Oh, God no!" Rory reassured her.  "Please, they can barely admit they like each other to them_selves_ let alone each other."

Jessie didn't answer.  "You think your mom likes my uncle Luke?"

"Oh, yeah.  But you can't tell him I told you.  Does Luke like my mom for real?"

With a slight nod, Jessie said, "I think so.  He looks at her a lot and his face gets soft when he talks about her."

"I think they've been ignoring the obvious for longer than I can remember," Rory admitted, thoughtfully sipping her lemonade.

Jessie gulped her soda and said, "You know what we should do?"

"What?"

"I saw it in a movie once.  We should make them spend a lot of time together doing stuff and then they'll fall in love."

Rory regarded Jessie banefully.  "They already spend a lot of time together and if it hasn't worked by now…."

"No, but time not like that.  They need to spend time on _dates_."

"Dating has to be voluntary," Rory explained.  "How can we possibly trick them into dating?"

Jessie sat back in her seat and took several more large swallows of her soda before looking up at Rory and saying, "I got it.  We make them think that we're going to be there, too, and then we don't show up."

"And when they can't find us, freak out, and call the police?  What then?"

Jessie sighed and said in a tone of voice reserved for the simple-minded, "We can _call_ them and say that we're running late or something came up."

For the first time Rory didn't have an answer.  She sat for a moment mulling this plan over as she continued to sip her lemonade.  "Let me think about it," she finally said.

Later, after they'd pawed through nail polish colors in an effort to find a shade that matched Jessie's new shoes, and then spend the rest of Luke's money on hair stuff, a two-piece purple bathing suit that Jessie felt she couldn't live without, and other assorted summer clothes, Rory said, "After much deliberation I think we might be able to make this work.  At the very least, we can say that we tried."

"Yay!" Jessie shouted.

"Calm down!" Rory said, laughing and thankful they were in the parking lot.  "It'll take a lot of work and a lot of sneaking around, but it's very possible that you're right.  They need to be taken away from their normal routines and put into more…romantic settings."

"Exactly," Jessie agreed, clapping her hands together.  They spent the rest of the trip back to Stars Hollow plotting.


	15. Chapter Fifteen

Disclaimer:  I don't own anything but the story idea.  Oh, wait.  I own Jessie.

A/N:  See Chapter One for full premise.  To sum up, this is an AU (Alternate Universe) in which Jess Mariano never existed.  In his place, Jessie Danes, daughter of Liz, has come to live with her Uncle Luke for the summer.  I am very pleased that so far people are enjoying this.  Reviews are **always** welcome, no matter how short or long (just in case you're reading and not reviewing…you know who you are).  Thank you to all of you have been reviewing.  It does mean a lot.  A special thanks goes out to Lindsay for letting me bounce all my crazy ideas off of her.  This story would not be here without her.  Literally.  She had to talk me into posting it.  And another big thanks goes out to my new friend Sarah for taking the time to read drafts of recent chapters.

July:  Cowboys and Ballerinas

Chapter Fifteen

~~

By the time Rory and Jessie returned to Lorelai's, they had come up with an initial plan for as soon as that evening.  Saturday, after all, Rory explained, was date night.  Jessie didn't quite understand the concept of an entire night set aside for daters, but she decided it wasn't worth quibbling over.  She was still in a good mood from her sneaker purchase and she couldn't wait to make Uncle Luke take her swimming now that she had her very first two-piece bathing suit.  

As they unloaded all their bags from the car, they quickly addressed last minute issues in their plan and went inside.

"Hello!" Rory called.

"Hello!" Jessie mimicked.

"Upstairs!" Lorelai yelled back just as they heard a loud bang and then a crash.  Muffled swearing followed and the two girls took the stairs to see what had happened.  

They quickly came to the doorway of Lorelai's room and discovered a mess of titanic proportions.  Lorelai sat on the floor before her closet with her legs spread out before her and piles of clothes, shoes and accessories surrounding her.  The bang and crash looked to be the result of a box that used to sit on the top shelf and now lay on its side, it's contents spilled out before them.

"Wow," Jessie said.  "Your room is even messier than mine."

"What happened?" Rory gaped.

"Nothing," Lorelai answered innocently.  "I just felt the urge to clean my closet out, that's all."

Rory raised her eyebrows so high they almost hit her hairline and said, "The last time you cleaned your closet was in the aftermath of the Great Easter Fiasco of '94."

Lorelai pointed her index finger at her daughter and claimed, "And I still say, Emily had no right to force you to go to that ridiculous egg hunt!  It was all just a clever ruse to get me alone!"

"Conceded," Rory assured her with hands raised, palms out.  "But this is now.  What happened?"

"Nothing," Lorelai replied a little too innocently.  Then, to change the subject, "Show me what you guys bought."

Jessie danced around in her new pink shoes and Lorelai oohed and aahed appropriately, while Rory showed her mother what was in her own bags.  When they were finished, Lorelai sat back on her hands and said, "Rory, I told Luke you'd bring Jess home when you guys got back.  Can you walk her over?"

Jessie and Rory exchanged a quick glance before Jessie demanded, "I want _you_ to walk me home."

"Me?" Lorelai repeated.  "This room is a disaster.  I have to stay and finish."

"Please," interrupted Rory.  "How many times have you left your room a mess?"

"That's not a very nice thing to say to your mommy," Lorelai chided.

"You can get some coffee if you walk me home and then you'll have energy to finish here!" Jessie told her desperately.

"The child makes a good point," Rory agreed.

"What's going on?" Lorelai ask suspiciously.

"Nothing," they answered in unison.  Rory winced, knowing how fishy that must have sounded.  "The mall kind of gave me a headache and I think I'm going to lie down for a while, that's all," she added, hoping to distract her mother.

"Awww, honey, okay, you go lay down and I'll take Jess home," Lorelai said soothingly to Rory.  On their way out the door, Rory and Jessie smiled at each other.  Things were going well.

The walk went quickly and they were each quiet.  Lorelai's thoughts were occupied with the events on her front stoop while the girls had been gone.  Jessie's were wrapped up in their plans.  As they neared the diner, they each became a little bit anxious.

"Okay," Lorelai said when they'd reached the door.  "You can take it from here, I think.  I'll see you later."

"You're not coming in?" Jessie asked with raised eyebrows.

"Nah, I should be getting back," Lorelai explained.

"Why?" Jessie demanded.

"Gotta clean my room," Lorelai reminded her.

"That's lame."

"Why?"

"Because."

"Because why?"

"Because there's coffee inside.  And you want some…don't you?" Jessie ventured.

Lorelai appeared to weaken.  "No," she said slowly.

"Are you sure?  I bet Uncle Luke has some that he just finished brewing.  He goes through it fast so there's always a fresh pot."

"I…." Lorelai began and trailed off.

"But if you don't want any fresh, hot coffee I guess that's okay."  Jessie lifted her shoulders as if to say, "It's your funeral."

"You are evil," Lorelai noted as she yanked the door open and led the way inside.  They didn't see Luke anywhere so Jessie charged up the stairs in her new shoes and threw open the door to the apartment.  "I'm home!" she yelled.  Lorelai reluctantly followed her in.  Jessie threw her bags on the couch and looked around.  Luke was nowhere to be found.  Then she spied the bathroom door.  It was closed.  Lorelai gulped.  

Jessie headed for the door and proceeded to pound on it while calling, "Uncle Luke!  Are you here?"

"You know what," Lorelai whispered, "I think I'll wait downstairs."

Before she could make for the door, though, Luke flung the bathroom door open and stood before them wearing a towel and scowl.  "What is the matter with you?" he scolded.  "When the door's closed you let the person inside have their privacy.  We talked about this."  The steam escaping told Lorelai exactly what he'd been doing in there and her mouth went dry.  

"Sorry, Uncle Luke, but Lorelai wanted coffee," Jessie explained.

Lorelai's eyes widened and she started to deny it.  "No, no.  I was just walking Jessie home.  She enticed me in with talk of coffee and I just accidentally followed her up here."

For the first time, Luke saw that Lorelai was in his apartment.  One of his hands held the towel together and the other fell to his side as she drank in the sight of him.  The droplets of water on his chest and shoulders gleamed and his hair was delightfully messy.  She wanted to run her fingers through it.  And then she wanted to rip the towel off and have her wicked way with him.  No! she shouted to herself.  Bad instincts!

Luke caught his breath.  She had changed from the jeans and baby t-shirt she'd been wearing on the porch steps into cut-offs and a tank top.  "Hey," he said, wishing he didn't feel quite so, well, naked.

Jessie felt the tension heighten as they each looked the other over and she knew she had to do something fast.  Distract them so that neither ran away, is what Rory told her to do if something like this happened.  "Uncle Luke!" she exclaimed.

Blinking and turning away from Lorelai to look at his niece, he said, "What?"

"Look at my shoes!"

He gazed down past his own bare feet to hers and saw the pink sneakers.  "Pink?  Converse?"

"Yup!  Aren't they the coolest?"  She danced around for him, pretending to tap dance.  

"They're great," he conceded, hoping she'd get Lorelai the hell outta there soon.  He gripped the towel tighter.

"Wanna see what else I got?" 

 "Can I change first?" he asked a little exasperated.

Jessie rolled her eyes.  "Just put your bathrobe on," she demanded.  "And hurry!"

With an eye-roll of his own, Luke closed the door of the bathroom and then reopened it a second later cinching the belt of his bathrobe.  "Happy?" he asked sarcastically.

"Uh-huh!" Jessie replied, oblivious.  She took his hand and dragged him over to the couch.  "Come on!" she called to Lorelai.

Carefully, Lorelai had been inching toward the door, hoping to get the heck out of there.  Luke in a bathrobe was making her feel uncomfortably warm.  Warmer, in fact, that the towel had been making her feel.  The deep vee showed off a very solid chest and his bare feet were, God help her, turning her on.  There was just something so intimate about seeing something of his that was usually covered up by socks and boots.  They made him look particularly exposed.  "Actually, I should be getting back."

"No," Jessie shouted.  "Come on!  You have to see the stuff, too!"

"But, Jess, you and Rory already showed me."

"Not everything," Jessie told her.  Luke sat on the couch next to her bags.  

"Did you leave anything at the mall for the other shoppers?" he asked drolly. 

"Of course," Jessie replied as if her uncle were a little silly in the head.  "Lorelai, look at this!"  Jessie held up her new purple two-piece bathing suit.  "A big-girl swim suit!"

Luke's face turned white and then red.  "Is that what I think it is?"

"Yeah," she told him happily.  "It's a two-piece!"

"Lorelai, you allowed your daughter to buy Jessie a bikini?" he asked brining his eyes from Jessie to glare at Lorelai.  

"It's not a bikini, Uncle Luke, it's a two-piece," Jessie explained.

"Luke, I swear, I had no knowledge of this," Lorelai told him.

"Don't you like it, Uncle Luke?" Jessie asked, a little disappointed.

Luke gaped at the two scraps of purple material Jessie was holding up in each hand.  "It doesn't matter if I like it or not," he told her. "You're not wearing it."

"What?  No fair!" Jessie howled.

"No fair?  No fair?  You're eight, not twenty," he said, his voice rising.

"So?" she argued.

"So, eight year olds don't wear bikinis." 

"But I'll be nine next month and it's not a bikini," she whined, stamping her foot a little.

"It's close enough."

"But I don't have a swim suit and I've always wanted a two piece.  It's been a dream of mine for-EVER!" she cried dramatically.

Luke sighed and crossed his arms over his chest, making the vee smaller.  "Why on _earth_ would you need a two-piece bathing suit?"

"They're sexy!" she chirped with a wide, earnest smile.

Luke stood and put a hand to his eyes, trying to block out that image.  "No," he said.  "Absolutely not.  Over my _dead body_."

Jessie stood now, too, and shouted, "You're not the boss of me!  I can wear a two-piece if I want to!"

"No you can't!" Luke shouted back, his temper long gone.  

"Humph," Jessie replied, arms crossed over her chest, eyes narrowed, and lower lip jutting out theatrically.  "I wish I'd been given an uncle who actually _liked_ me," she tossed at him before stomping into her room and slamming the door.

Luke let out a deep sigh, his anger dissipating.  From Jessie's closed door, his eyes moved to Lorelai.  He wished she didn't always look so damn good.  "Sorry," she offered, trying not to meet his eyes.  The trouble with that was her eyes were constantly falling on his lovely chest.

"Forget it," he replied.  "Rory couldn't have known and I'm sure Jess did her best starving child impersonation."

Chuckling, Lorelai nodded and said, "Kids will be kids."

"Yeah," he agreed, dragging one hand through his hair, partly in frustration and partly in discomfort.  He felt at a disadvantage with Lorelai dressed and he just in his robe.  The look in her eyes when she'd seen him in the towel had unnerved him, especially with Jessie around.

"Well, I guess I should…." she trailed off, gesturing to the door.

"Yeah, okay," he told her, bizarrely disappointed that she was leaving.

"So, I'll see you," she said, with her hand on the doorknob.  

He walked over to her and held the door open.  "I'll be here," he told her with a nod.  

Dragging her eyes away from that damn vee, Lorelai waved an awkward goodbye.  He returned it with a jaunty wave of his own and when the door had closed behind her, he let out a long sigh.  He seemed to be doing that a lot lately.  Sighing.  Sagging back onto the couch, he found the purple bathing suit and held it up.  He wondered idly if he could get away with setting it on fire. 


	16. Chapter Sixteen

Disclaimer:  I don't own anything but the story idea.  Oh, wait.  I own Jessie.

A/N:  See Chapter One for full premise.  To sum up, this is an AU (Alternate Universe) in which Jess Mariano never existed.  In his place, Jessie Danes, daughter of Liz, has come to live with her Uncle Luke for the summer.  I am very pleased that so far people are enjoying this.  Reviews are **always** welcome, no matter how short or long (just in case you're reading and not reviewing…you know who you are).  Thank you to all of you have been reviewing.  It does mean a lot.  A special thanks goes out to Lindsay for letting me bounce all my crazy ideas off of her.  This story would not be here without her.  Literally.  She had to talk me into posting it.  And another big thanks goes out to my new friend Sarah for taking the time to read drafts of recent chapters.

July:  Cowboys and Ballerinas

Chapter Sixteen

~~

After slamming the door to her room, Jessie stomped over to her bed where she flopped onto her back with her arms crossed over her chest and a tremendous pout upon her face.  Stupid Uncle Luke, trying to tell her what to do!  She lay there, pouting at the ceiling for almost fifteen minutes before the phone rang.  She heard Uncle Luke moving around out in the apartment getting ready to go downstairs so she knew he'd answer.  Sure enough the phone stopped after the second ring and after a few moments, she heard a knock.

"Jess," Luke called, "it's for you."

Frowning, she got up and opened the door.  "Who is it?" she demanded.

"Rory," he said grumpily and handed her the phone before walking into the kitchen to finish making a cup of tea.  He was back in his usual attire.

"Hello," Jessie said into the phone.

"Jess, what happened?" Rory asked in a whisper.

"When?"

"At your place.  You were supposed to get my mom to stay for dinner.  She's up in her closet again wreaking havoc!"

"She smells?"  Jessie asked, confused.

"Not reeking, wreaking – just forget it.  What happened?"

Jessie kicked her foot against a wall and stared down at her new pink shoes.  Uncle Luke was still close by so she couldn't really say much.  "It's hard to explain," she replied carefully.  Luke lifted his head up at this and regarded his niece suspiciously as he sipped his tea.  Jessie hunched her shoulders and turned so that her back faced him.  

"He's there right now?"

"Yeah."

"Well, look, I'm going to try to talk her into coming over for dinner tonight, but she's acting weird.  If I can get her there, do what we talked about earlier, okay?"

Jessie ventured a look over her shoulder at Luke who was still drinking and staring at her with narrowed eyes.  "Okay, sure," she promised.

"Okay, I gotta go.  Talk soon.  Bye."

"Bye," Jessie returned and then hung up.  As she replaced the receiver she turned fully around and met her uncle's eyes.  "What?" she asked defensively.

"What's going on?"

"Nothing."

"Why is Rory calling here?"

"We're friends.  What, I can't have friends?" she asked, hoping she looked innocent enough.  Luke wasn't buying it for a second, though.  

"You can have as many friends as you want," he told her.  "But don't try and tell me something's not going on, because I know better."

Jessie snorted, crossed her arms over her chest and let her left hip jut out as if to say, "Yeah, okay, whatever, old man."

"About this bathing suit," he said, switching gears.

"Yeah?" she said expectantly.

Luke took a deep breath.  As much as he wanted to lock her up and throw away the key so that nothing bad ever happened to her, he knew that was just a teensy bit unrealistic.  Plus the look on her face was just so earnest and hopeful.  "We won't return it, but you have to wait until next month, when you turn nine to wear it.  We'll go back Sports Authority tomorrow and get you a suit until then," he told her.  Jessie let out a whoop and she bounded across the small space and jumped into his lap.  "Thank you!!" she cried, snaking her arms around his neck.

"Okay, okay," he said, hugging her back.  "But the next time you want to buy something like that you need to ask first."

"I promise," she told him solemnly before she scampered off his lap and skipped to the couch to look again on her beloved two-piece.  

"I gotta get downstairs for the dinner rush," he told her.  "Are you hungry yet or did you eat your body weight in fried food at the mall?"

"Yes and yes," she answered.

"You spend way too much time with the Gilmores," he replied as he ushered her out the front door of their apartment.

~~

Later, as Jessie grimaced and put the last bite of turkeyloaf and mashed potatoes with gravy in her mouth, Rory and Lorelai walked into the diner.  She was sitting at her usual stool, on her knees as she ate and when she saw them she called hello and waved.  Unfortunately, the turkeyloaf and potato that had been in her mouth landed on the floor just as Luke was passing by.

"Watch it, Jess," he grumped as he handed her his rag and pointed at the mess.

"Sorry," she said, trying her best to look innocent.  She took the rag and jumped down to clean up her mess just as Lorelai and Rory found a nearby table.

"Hey, Jess," Rory said pointedly.

"Hi!" Jessie chirped in reply.  Luke pulled out his order pad and said, "You know what you want?"

Jessie waited until they were done placing their orders but before Luke had left them before asking, "Hey, have you guys ever seen that Willy Wonka movie?"

"Are you kidding?" Lorelai asked, hand to her chest, eyes wide.  "It's only one of the best films ever made.  You've never seen it?"

"Nope," she replied, trying to look sad.

"Luke, this must be remedied," Rory demanded.  

"And soon!" Lorelai added.

"Maybe we could watch it tonight!" Jessie said, right on cue.

"Sure go have fun, I'll pick you up after the diner closes like last time," Luke answered with a distracted shrug.

Jessie deflated.  She forgot the script.  What was she supposed to do now?  Desperately, she looked at Rory who nodded with wide eyes as if to somehow telepathically tell her what to say.   "Uh…." She replied looking panicked.  

"Or!" Rory jumped in.  "It doesn't look too busy, why don't you come, too!"

Luke shook his head and replied.  "And leave Caesar here alone on a Saturday night?  Not gonna happen."

As if scheduled for an entrance, Lane walked in and called, "Hey Luke!  Thought it might be busy tonight, so I stopped by to see if you needed an extra hand."  She waved at the group and headed for the kitchen to get an apron.  

Luke stared, dumbfounded, at Lane's back and then at the three women before him.  Lorelai looked enthusiastic about a movie night and that was fine.  Jessie and Rory, though, looked almost guilty.  What were they up to?

"Perfect," Jessie bounced.  "Lane can stay and we can go watch a movie!"

"Not so fast," Luke responded.  "Lane isn't scheduled for tonight.  There's no reason why she should have to work while I go play."

"Come on, Luke," Rory cajoled.  "It'll be fun."

Luke lifted his eyebrows to the ceiling and blew a breath out.  Jessie and Rory exchanged a look.  He was weakening.  Ever since Jessie had come to live with him and he experienced the normal hours of day to day life as opposed to the five-thirty to eleven hours of diner life he'd been more and more willing to blow off diner-life when he was able.  "Okay, fine.  Let me just go make sure it's okay with Lane.  Then I'll get your food out and we can go."

"Woo hoo!" whooped Jessie.  

"Inside voice," Luke scolded with a gentle sigh.  

"Yeah, yeah," she replied to him as he left to put their order in.

"I can't believe you've never seen Willy Wonka before," Lorelai chided Jessie.  

"What can I say?" she replied with big eyes.  "I'm a child in need."  She almost pulled it off but Lorelai snorted and said, "Not since you've come here.  You've got Luke wrapped around you're little finger."

Jessie giggled and said, "I'm glad I came."

"So are we," Rory declared firmly with a wink.  

As the foursome left the diner later on, Rory and Jessie exchanged a look and as they passed Doose's market Rory said, "We're going to stop in here and get supplies."

"Supplies?" Luke asked with a frown.

"Can't have movie night without junk food," Rory explained.

"You two kids have fun, though!" Jessie called excitedly as she and Rory ducked into the store.  Luke and Lorelai stood outside for a minute, looked at each other awkwardly and then continued walking.  The two girls pressed their noses up against the window to watch the grown ups walk away.  "Hey," Taylor shouted.  "I just Windexed that glass!"  

"Sorry, Taylor," they giggled before slowing picking up the items they needed.

~~

On the sidewalk, Luke watched Jessie dart into Doose's with Rory and again he was struck by the suspicion that something was up.  Unable to put his finger on just what felt wrong, though, he turned to Lorelai, awkwardly smiled as if to say, "I have no idea what just happened," and then watched as she did the same.  A cool breeze offered a brief respite from the heat wave they'd been experiencing and they each were thinking about that afternoon and the ice cube.  Luke stuffed his hands into the pockets of his jeans and shuffled his feet as they walked.  Lorelai crossed her arms and hunched her shoulders as she felt her face flush.  She had meant for the ice cube to be innocent and silly.  The reactions it had produced in both of them had surprised and scared her.  Ever since Jessie had come to live with him, she'd been seeing this whole different side of her old friend.  

They walked in silence to Lorelai's place and when they reached the steps of her porch Lorelai took them two at a time while Luke hung back and waited for her to get the door open.  As she awkwardly gestured for him to enter ahead of her, Luke ducked in and as he did, caught a whiff of her perfume.  Mmmm, flowers, he thought.  Why does she always smell like flowers?

"You wanna beer?" she asked as she entered the house behind him.

"Yeah, sure," he said, lifting his shoulders still with his hands in his pockets.  He watched her walk away and that old cheesy line, "I love to watch her leave," entered his head.  Giving himself a mental shake, he wandered into the living room and flopped onto her couch.  Lorelai's butt was none of his business, he reminded himself sternly.  Closing his eyes he leaned his head back and tried to force the image out of his head.  He was not going to think about how well her jeans fit her.  He was not going to think about how perfectly rounded her hips were.  He was not going to think about how good she smelled.  He was not going to think about the way his body had responded earlier.  He was not going to think about how he'd had to go home and take a cold shower after her little ice cube trick.  He was definitely not going to think about how much he'd wanted to make the water hot, close his eyes and let his imagination run wild.  Nope.  Not going to think anymore.  Thinking only got him into trouble.  

"Luke?"  His eyes flew open and before him stood Lorelai with his beer.  "Yeah?"

"Thought maybe you'd fallen asleep and I was going to be insulted that you couldn't wait until _after_ I'd gotten you drunk to pass out," she joked as she handed him his beer.  

"Just tired," he admitted, taking the beer and glancing away.  Not going to think about how much he wanted to let the alcohol take hold so that he could kiss her until they were both gasping for air and not feel any remorse.  

She sat beside him and said, "It's a lot.  You're doing the single-parent thing and I can totally relate."  She took a pull off her own beer and felt some of the tension and anxiety of their being alone lessen.

Luke nodded trying to clear his head and said, "You're about the only one I know who can.  The other day, Taylor told me that she'd be scarred for life and would probably grow up to be a serial killer."

"Taylor's just an ass, Luke," she said with a gentle squeeze of his shoulder.  "Nobody listens to what he says because he never has anything of substance to say.  Jessie is fine.  Really."

"Thanks," he said as he took another swig from his bottle.  God, he was thirsty all of a sudden.  He was sitting on one end of the couch and Lorelai was next to him sitting sideways so that she faced him with her leg bent and her drink resting on her knee.  

A stillness crept in and they sat drinking in a companionable silence for a while before Luke said, "I wonder where the girls are.  They should have been able to get whatever they needed by now, right?"

Glancing at the clock on the wall Lorelai agreed, "It is taking longer than usual.  Here, let me get you another beer."  She took the empty from his hand and he looked at it in surprise.  He didn't remember finishing it.  She left and came back with another for them and just as she sat back down the phone rang.  Frowning, she picked up the cordless from the coffee table and answered.

"Hey!" she said after a second.  "What, why?  That's silly, just come home.  Rory….  Well, okay…I guess so.  Sure.  Okay, see you then.  Bye."

Luke stared at her, waiting.  "Well?"

"They went to the ice cream shop for dessert," Lorelai replied with a frown.  

"They what?" he asked, his forehead lined with confusion.

"But she said they'd be here soon."

"Doesn't make any sense."

Lorelai shrugged. "It is weird.  They're bringing me back a shake, though, so I'm happy," she finished, shaking it off.

"Huh," he said.  He couldn't let go of the sense that something wasn't adding up.  Lorelai flipped on the TV and she channel surfed while he tried to make heads or tails of the weirdness.  They each finished another beer and when he was half-way through the third he began to feel it.  Lorelai had turned to face the television but hadn't moved away from him and her perfume again invaded his personal space.  

The sun had set and twilight surrounded them before they knew it.  Forgetting to turn on a lamp, the TV provided soft illumination and Luke eventually turned his attention to what Lorelai had on.  It was some comedy but he had no idea which one.  His knowledge of television was limited to ESPN and Cartoon Network.  As he forced her proximity and delicious scent out of his brain her sudden bubble of laughter startled him.  It wasn't just a polite little laugh, but a full-on side-splitting guffaw and she doubled over into her lap and then threw her head back as she roared.  Turning to him, she leaned in close and trilled, "Oh, my God that was hilarious!  Did you see that?"

Luke smiled a little and reveled at her careless ability to project her every feeling and emotion.  Quieting, Lorelai felt her smile drift away as she recovered from the bout of laughter and – God help her – gazed into his eyes.  He had such nice eyes and she couldn't help but allow herself to sink into them.  Everything about him was nice.  He had a nice face and wonderful stubble…sexy like Bruce Springsteen.  And his jaw.  God, he had a nice jaw.  Her eyes wandered over his wonderfully strong and able jaw.  Suddenly her breaths came in short little gasps and her eyes drifted down to his mouth and back up again.  She licked her lips as if preparing to really savor a treat.  

Luke's breathing had all but stopped.  He traced her fine features with his eyes and absorbed her delicate cheekbones and beautiful mouth in one long sweep.  God, if she was teasing him again he thought he'd die.  He leaned in a fraction of an inch more and enjoyed the play of her breath on his lips.  Stifling a groan, he let his gaze drop to her mouth and he saw that her lips were parted.  He let his tongue slowly pass his between his teeth as he licked his lips.  Lorelai hitched her breath and followed the movement with her eyes.

Before he knew what was happening, before he could even think, Lorelai launched herself at him and knocked their drinks to the floor as she took his mouth under hers and kissed him as hard as she could.  Grasping her waist in his hands, he pulled her swiftly into his lap and began to explore her body.  Down her hips and around to the full curve of the butt he'd been admiring earlier and then up to her back and into her hair and then down again to slip under the back of her tank top where he found that she – mother of God – wasn't wearing a bra.  She moaned a little into his mouth and straddled his legs as she relished in the stubble under her fingertips.  Moving up past his wonderful jaw toward his ears, she forced her fingers into the curling hair at the base of his neck and nudged the baseball cap off.  

He felt the rush of air as the cap came off and he brought his hands down her bare back and around to her stomach and then slowly up again.  He was taking a terrible risk, but he just couldn't stop himself.  Her creamy skin felt so silky and smooth under his hands and she had intoxicated him with her scent.  Slowly he inched upward, using his tongue to distract her mouth from what his hands were doing.  Just as he felt one delectable swell, though, the front door opened and Lorelai tore away from him as if she'd just been dragged off.  She flung herself onto the opposite end of the couch and Luke grabbed a throw pillow to put in his lap.  Closing his eyes he tried to get his breathing under control.  Braving a swift glance at Lorelai he took in her shocked expression and hasty clothing readjustments.  

"We're home," they heard Jessie shout as she and Rory headed for the kitchen to put their purchases away.

"Hat," hissed Lorelai.

"What?" Luke asked, his expression perplexed.

"Your _hat_," she whispered furiously as she pointed to the floor beside the couch. 

Hastily, Luke reached down and put it back on just as the girls entered the living room.  


	17. Chapter Seventeen

Disclaimer:  I don't own anything but the story idea.  Oh, wait.  I own Jessie.

A/N:  See Chapter One for full premise.  To sum up, this is an AU (Alternate Universe) in which Jess Mariano never existed.  In his place, Jessie Danes, daughter of Liz, has come to live with her Uncle Luke for the summer.  I am very pleased that so far people are enjoying this.  Reviews are **always** welcome, no matter how short or long (just in case you're reading and not reviewing…you know who you are).  Thank you to all of you have been reviewing.  It does mean a lot.  A special thanks goes out to Lindsay for letting me bounce all my crazy ideas off of her.  This story would not be here without her.  Literally.  She had to talk me into posting it.  And another big thanks goes out to my new friend Sarah for taking the time to read drafts of recent chapters.

Superscribe:  Wow.  No one has ever had a dream about one of my characters before.  I feel like I've officially arrived!

July:  Cowboys and Ballerinas

Chapter Seventeen

~~

That night when Luke and Jessie were saying goodbye after the movie, Lorelai held his gaze a little longer than she'd intended.  It was almost as if she needed more now that she'd had a sample. 

After the girls had interrupted them, Luke and Lorelai had tried to act normal, but it was fairly clear, at least to Rory, that something was going on.  "Why is there beer all over the floor?"

"Oh, jeez, I must have tipped it over," Luke explained clumsily.

"Two bottles?" she asked with her eyebrow arched.

He hadn't had an answer to that.

And during the movie Lorelai kept casting sidelong glances his way, studying his profile and taking in his reaction to what was onscreen.  He'd closely monitored Jessie's intake of the junk they'd gotten and as a result she was asleep with her head on his knee by ten.  Lorelai was at the opposite end of the couch and with Jessie's feet on her lap.  Rory sat on the floor, seemingly oblivious to it all.  

When the movie was over, Luke gently picked Jessie up and she hung her arms over his shoulders and let her knees hitch around his waist.  He took one fist in the other and used his hands to support her weight under her bottom.

"G'night, Luke," Rory yawned before she headed for her room.

"Good night," Luke replied.

 "Thanks for coming," Lorelai said huskily as she led him to the door.  He held her eyes for a long moment and said meaningfully, "Thanks for having us."

"Anytime," she replied evenly, without breaking eye contact.

Wanting to say more, but unable to articulate his feelings with Jessie in such close proximity, he said as she opened the front door, "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yes, you will," she told him firmly.

Luke inhaled the fragrant night air as he walked home.  Jessie, who was still asleep in his arms, rubbed her tired face against his shoulder and sighed in her sleep.  Never in his wildest dreams could he have anticipated that Lorelai would make the first move the way she had.  He could still feel the press of her lips and the corners of his mouth drifted upward.  

~~

Lorelai watched Luke carry Jessie away and closed the door when she lost sight of them.  Her skin felt all tingly and warm as she remembered just how it felt to be on his lap, straddling his legs, pressing her lips to his, feeling his tongue invade her mouth.  She'd welcomed the intrusion and made an exploration as well, searching and investigating.  With a shiver, she walked to the door of Rory's room, which was ajar and said, "G'night."

"'Night," she heard Rory mumble.

Rubbing her hands up and down her arms, Lorelai walked through the house turning off lights and locking doors before heading upstairs.  Ever since he'd left she had felt chilled.  Once in bed, she let her mind drift back to all the feelings and sensations of earlier.  She never imagined that he'd taste so good or that she'd want him so much.  On the other hand, was it good to want him this much?  There was no denying that she was definitely lusting after him.  Was it more, though?  She was ashamed to admit it to herself but until Jessie had come along she'd felt the odd attraction to Luke but nothing on this scale.  He was just another hot guy she ran into on a daily basis.  She'd never considered a potential future with him because nothing about him screamed future.  Now, though, all she could think about was how much she wanted to kiss him again and the places she wanted to kiss him and the way his mouth and tongue might feel on her body.    

Lorelai rolled over in bed and stared at the wall through the dark.  Her hand rested lightly on the sheet beside her but she could still feel the rough stubble beneath it.  The scent of his skin was still in her nostrils.  The texture of his hair was still familiar.  Inhaling deeply, Lorelai closed her eyes and imagined the scene again over in her mind.  She'd known exactly where his hands were going just as the door had opened and she'd been ready and wanting it, waiting impatiently for his slow, deliberate fingers to reach their destination.  She irrationally wished that he had been quicker.  Her nipples peaked through the thin cotton of her sleep shirt at the memory.  

Glancing at the clock, she quickly decided that as long as she was up, he should be, too.  And it wasn't really _that_ late, after all.

~~

Luke lay in bed staring at the ceiling.  He still couldn't believe he'd been kissing Lorelai just a short time ago.  Jessie hadn't woken up until he'd carefully put her into bed, something he knew he'd be paying for tomorrow in back pain.  The kid wasn't light, after all.  A five-minute walk carrying the dead weight of an eight year old wasn't a jaunt in the park.  Once she was safely tucked in, though, he'd called downstairs to make sure they were okay and then gotten ready for bed himself.  

Now that he was actually stretched out on his back in a pair of plaid flannel pajama bottoms and an old t-shirt, he found that he was entirely awake and completely focused on the incident on Lorelai's couch.  How embarrassing to make a grab for a throw pillow because you'd been making out with your best friend.  Ruefully, Luke cringed, but rationally, he knew that neither girl had caught wind of what had happened.  Or at least, neither had mentioned it.  

Shifting into a more comfortable position, Luke took a deep breath and blew it out in an attempt to clear his head.

The pierce of a ringing telephone jolted him back to reality and as he scooped it up he made note of the time.  It was fairly late.  "Hello," he answered gruffly.

"Hey," came her breathless reply.  "How you doing?"

"Hi," he replied, surprised but pleased to hear her voice.  "I'm good and you?"  Luke lifted his free arm and tucked the hand behind his head.

"Good.  I was just thinking about you so I thought I'd call," Lorelai explained.

Luke's stomach dropped a little.  "I've been thinking about you, too," he confessed in a low voice.

"Yeah?  Like what?" she demanded playfully.

"Like tonight," he said honestly, "on the couch."

"Me too.  That's a damn good couch.  I was thinking about replacing it but now I think I'll keep it forever."

Luke chuckled and replied, "It _is_ a good couch."

"We had been calling him Ralph, but Good Couch has a better ring to it."

"Thanks."

After a pause, Lorelai gave a frustrated sigh and said, "So what are we going to do about this?"

Jesus, that was quick, Luke thought.  It had taken longer than he'd anticipated, but it was still damn quick for her to be heading for the hills.  "About what?" he asked in a voice that was quickly hardening. 

"Us," she said quickly.  "I mean, I know I had fun and I'm fairly certain you had fun, so…." she trailed off wishing he'd jump in and say something nice.  She suddenly felt very vulnerable.

"I had fun," he assured her softly.  

"Good," Lorelai said a little unsure of herself.  Damn, she hated that.  She was never unsure of herself when it came to men.  

"You'll be in tomorrow?" It was his turn to sound unsure.

"Yeah," she answered shyly.

"Good."

Lorelai smiled slowly into the receiver, her uncertainty vanishing.  "See you then," she told him.  

"I'll be there," he replied.

They hung up and Luke settled back into his pillow with the most idiotic smile on his face.  

~~

He was still awake and smiling when Jessie climbed into bed with him.  Settling herself under the covers, she saw in the moonlight the curve of his smile and she said, "Uncle Luke?"

"Hmmm?"

"If you and Lorelai get married will Rory and I be sisters?"

Turning to look her in the eyes, Luke answered honestly, "The possibility of Lorelai and I getting married is very slim, but if it did happen I think you'd be considered step-cousins."

Jessie thought about this explanation for a moment before saying, "Rory says that you and Lorelai were kissing when we got there."

With wide eyes, Luke exclaimed, "She says what?"

"We saw you on the couch when we first came in," she told him.

"Oh," he replied, deflated.  He could deny anything except evidence.  "Why didn't you say anything then?"

"Rory said we shouldn't 'ruin the mood.'"

"The 'mood'?  Is that why you guys left us to get junk food and ice cream?"

"Yup.  And it worked, right?"

Groaning, Luke covered his face with his hands, "You set us up," he accused.

"No, we _helped_," Jessie stressed.

"You're killing me."

"But it worked," she protested.

He couldn't argue with her there.  "Okay," he admitted, "it worked.  But don't ever do that again."

"All right," she promised.  "G'night," she said before kissing him on the cheek and turning over to go to sleep.

Luke simply shook his head in the dark and realized anew that he'd been had.


	18. Chapter Eighteen

Disclaimer:  I don't own anything but the storyline and Jessie.

A/N:  See Chapter One for full premise.  To sum up, this is an AU (Alternate Universe) in which Jess Mariano never existed.  In his place, Jessie Danes, daughter of Liz, has come to live with her Uncle Luke for the summer.  

Sorry it's been a few days.  My beta-reader got sick.  To recap chapter seventeen, Rory and Jessie were able to trick Luke and Lorelai into spending some alone time together.  As a result, nature took its course and the inevitable occurred.  The macking was interrupted by the girls, though, and later, Jessie confessed to Luke that he and Lor had been set up.  Luke was understandably horrified.

I can barely believe that there are almost two hundred reviews for this story.  I've got twice the chapters for A Little Emotional and almost the same number of reviews.  That's saying something.  Thank you so much to everyone who has left a review.  A special thanks goes out to Lindsay for letting me bounce all my crazy ideas off of her.  And another big thanks goes out to my beta-reader and friend, Sarah, for taking the time to read these chapters and make them as good as they can be.

July:  Cowboys and Ballerinas

Chapter Eighteen

~~

The next morning Lorelai overslept and didn't have time to stop at the diner before going to the Dragonfly.  She called Luke on her way to the Inn, though, to say she'd be there for dinner.  Luke didn't mind as he was pretty busy with customers.  He even let Jessie walk to the library by herself while he waited for Lane to come in for the afternoon shift.  It was Sunday and he'd promised to take her to Sports Authority for a new bathing suit and she wasn't about to let him forget it.  He reminded her that Lane was scheduled to come in at eleven and sure enough, Jessie arrived back with her bag of books just as Lane finished tying her apron on.  Luke assumed that Lane had been in on the previous day's movie scheme but he didn't want to ask her about it.  The last thing he wanted to know was the number of people involved in the little plot.

After Jessie put her books upstairs, she and Luke piled into his old green truck and headed for a new, one-piece bathing suit.  Her curly brown hair was tied into a messy ponytail and her dark eyes gleamed at the thought of another new swimsuit.  Her golden skin was tanned and Luke couldn't help but feel very satisfied with his life in that moment.  Her clinginess after the phone call to Liz had gradually lessened and Jessie was almost back to her normal pre-phone call self.  She hadn't talked to him about it since her tearful breakdown and Luke wondered a little if he should bring it up.  She seemed fine, though, he told himself.  She giggled a lot and danced around the apartment the way she always had.  She bounced and had trouble sitting still the way she always had.  She even cannonballed onto the couch before Bedtime TV just as she always had.  

As they pulled into the parking lot, Jessie bounced up and down in her seat, confirming his thoughts.  She grinned at him and squealed, "Bathing suit!" 

"You're going to make my ears bleed," he told her with fake grumpiness.

She rolled her eyes and said theatrically, "You're so _dramatic_."

"Ha!  Pot, meet the kettle," Luke replied with a short laugh.

"Huh?" she asked with a wrinkled nose.

They got out of the truck and he said, "Nothing.  If we're getting you a suit, I thought we could go down to the lake later and you could try it out while I fished.  It's a nice day.  So let's hurry up, okay?"

"Yay!" she squeaked as she bounded along beside him.  She grabbed for his hand and he felt his arm jerk out of the socket a little each time she bounced downward.  

Thankfully, he'd parked close to the front doors and she let go of his hand when they entered.  Finding a one-piece bathing suit didn't take long.  In fact, finding rows and rows of them didn't take long.  When Luke first saw the expansive selection he almost doubled over and put his head in his hands.  There was no way she'd find something quickly in all this.  But, Jessie surprised him.  She must have known what she was looking for because in about ten minutes she'd taken several to the dressing room and after coming out to show him a few, she chose a pink one-piece with boy-shorts on the bottom.  It wasn't too high or low cut and the straps criss-crossed in the back to add just the right amount of "sexy" according to Jessie.  Luke had simply grimaced, closed his eyes, and tried to breath.  He was very grateful for the boy-shorts bottom.  All the beer commercials on ESPN made him worry that the only bathing suits out there were cut for strippers and models.  This suit made him very happy.

Jessie bounced along jerking his arm again as they headed back to the truck and she chatted away about nothing for a good part of the trip.  Suddenly, though, after several minutes of silence, she turned to him and said, "Will you and Lorelai have a baby?"

Luke was so stunned by her question and the lack of transition that he almost drove off the road.  Righting himself and the truck, he turned to Jessie and said, "What?!"

"If you get married.  Will you have a baby?"

"I…I…." he stammered.  "Jess, we are _not_ getting married."

"But you might.  And babies come from kissing and other stuff.  You don't _have_ to be married to have one," she told him authoritatively.

Luke let out an impatient noise.  "I know where babies come from."  Then he silently added, Please don't ask the other stuff.  She stared at him expectantly until he finally said, "It will be a very long time, if ever, before Lorelai and I get married, much _less_ have a baby.  We're hardly even dating at this point.  Lets not put the cart before the horse."

"Okay," she told him.  Then, in a small voice she added, "But if you _did_ have a baby, would you still…like _me_?"

Ahhh, he though.  _That's_ what this is about.  "Of course," he told her.  "And I don't just _like_ you, you know."

"I know," she said anxiously.  "I just wanted to make sure."

Luke chuckled, ruffled her hair and replied, "If anything changes I'll let you know."

She giggled, dropped her head to one side and said, "So you'd call me up and say, 'Hey, Jess, I don't like you anymore.'?"

"Exactly," Luke said, nodding.  "I'd say, 'Sorry, Jess.  No more love for you.'"

"No, you wouldn't," she laughed.

"I wouldn't?"

"No!" she chortled.

"How do you know?" He asked with exaggerated seriousness.

"Because I'm lovable!" she claimed, haughtily.

"Ha!" he replied.

"I _am_!" she insisted with a wide grin and a laugh. 

Luke laughed, too, and nodded as he pulled the truck into Stars Hollow.  "Yes, you are," he admitted.

Once back at the diner, they went upstairs where Jessie quickly changed into her new suit and Luke got his fishing gear together.  At the lake, Luke sat on the dock and watched while Jessie splashed around in the shallow water.  The sun was fighting through rolling clouds as Luke let his legs hang off the end of the dock and watched his fishing line drape into the water.  The dock was long and he was almost at the very end while Jessie played in the shallow water near the shore's edge. Giggling, she charged toward him splashing abundantly and shrieking in the cold water.

"Hey!" he complained good-naturedly.  "You'll scare the fish away!"

"Come back, fish!" she yelled as she waved her arms around splashed some more.

Luke laughed and reeled in the line.  Nothing was biting anyway.  As he put the rod and reel away the sun faded behind a bank of dark clouds.  Shivering, Jessie climbed onto the dock and wrapped her towel around her shoulders.  "I'm cold!" she announced.  She stood dripping next to him as he helped her towel off her hair.  "Ready to head home?" he asked.  She nodded, her teeth chattering too much to form a coherent sentence.  Shivering again, she slipped into her old flip-flops and slid her hand into his.  In Luke's other hand was his pole and tackle box.  Jessie tightened her grip on the towel and huddled closer to Luke as they walked home fighting a stiff cold wind.  

Once inside and upstairs, Luke put his fishing gear away and said, "Go change, you'll catch a cold."  As if on cue, Jessie sneezed and scampered into her room to change.  When she emerged a little later her clothes were dry, but her hair was still wet and her nose was shiny and red.

In the kitchen Luke was boiling water for some herbal tea and honey.  He paused look up and note that it had begun to really storm outside.  As he poured the water into two mugs, he saw heard Jessie's door open and he paused to say, "Did you hang your suit up?"

"Yes?"

"Jessie."

She sighed dramatically and said, "Fine," as she rolled her eyes and stalked into her room to retrieve the wet suit and hang it up in the bathroom.  When she came back into the kitchen he finally noticed that she was wearing black leggings, an oversized orange sweatshirt and her pink converse with fuchsia socks.  Luke did not comment on her wardrobe choice, he simply put her mug in front of her and sat across with his own.  After they had finished their tea and warmed up a little, they settled on the couch with the rest of _Charlotte's Web_.  Luke settled against the cushions with his feet up on the coffee table and the book in his lap.  Jessie sat beside him with her legs tucked under her body and her head under his arm. 

A couple hours later Jessie's nose was still a little red and she had sneezed a few more times.  "Don't get sick," Luke warned.

Jessie rolled her eyes and swiped her sleeve across her nose.  "Hey!" Luke scolded.  "That's why God invented Kleenex.  Your sleeve is to cover your arm, not to wipe your nose."  He book marked the page and stood up to get her some tissue.  She took it from him and blew noisily into it.  "Such a lady," he told her.

She made a face at him and commanded, "Read."

Luke obeyed for another half hour before noting the time pointedly.  "We need to get downstairs for dinner."

As she extricated herself from his side she asked, "Can I have pizza for dinner?"

"No," Luke replied as he set the book down and led her out the door.

"Why not?" she demanded.

"Because pizza is not on my menu."

"So if you put pizza on the menu I could have it?"

"No."

"But _why_?" Jessie whined.

"You get enough pizza when you see the Gilmores.  The last thing you need is more," Luke answered reasonably.

"You're so mean!" she declared.

"I know," he told her with a smile.

"Meanie!" she accused.

"That's me," he replied.

"So what's for dinner?" she asked darkly, clambering up onto her stool.

"I asked Caesar to make you up a plate of chicken, mashed potatoes, gravy, and green beans."

"Ew!"

"Stop," Luke told her with an eye-roll as he left to get her food from the kitchen.

When he returned, Lorelai was sitting beside her.  "Hey," he said with an awkward smile as he set Jessie's food down.

"Hi," she returned, a little bashfully.

"Can I get you anything?"

"Burger and fries," she said, feeling the tension ease a little 

"How about some chicken?" Luke offered.

"I'd rather tear off my own arm and beat myself to death with it," she replied nicely.

"As long as you don't have any strong feelings about it."

"Nope."

"I'll get the burger," he told her.

Lorelai watched him go then turned to Jessie with narrowed eyes and said, "So Rory tells me that you two set us up."

Jessie had the grace to look guilty, but she quickly shrugged it off and said reasonably, "It worked."

"Still," Lorelai chastised, "using Willy Wonka for your evil plans is almost blasphemous.  You ought to be ashamed."

"Bless-a-what?" Jessie asked impatiently.

"Bad," Lorelai clarified.

"I'll never do it again," Jessie promised in exasperation.  The grown ups got upset about the littlest things!  To make it up to her, Jessie added,  "Do you want to stay for Bedtime TV?"

Lorelai paused and then said tentatively, "Really?  You wouldn't mind?" 

"Nope, it'll be fun.  You like the Powerpuff Girls, right?"

"Love 'em," Lorelai confirmed.

"Here ya go," Luke interrupted as he put the plate of food before Lorelai.

"Perfect, thanks!"

Jessie and Lorelai ate and chatted while Luke worked.  At nine he nodded toward the clock on the wall and said, "Okay, time for bed, Jess. Say goodnight."  

"Lorelai's going to watch TV with us," Jessie announced as she jumped down off the stool.

Luke's eyes shot to Lorelai's for confirmation.  Lorelai nodded and said, "I was invited and I have accepted.  If that's okay with you, that is," she added hastily.

"Yeah," he said softly.

On their way upstairs, Jessie sneezed again and Luke groaned, "Please don't get sick, Jess."

"I won't," she told him as she again used her sleeve to wipe her nose.

"Kleenex," he admonished her as they reached the top of the stairs.

"I don't _have_ any!" she cried defensively before sneezing again.

"Come on," he said, leading the way into the apartment.  Lorelai followed them in and watched as Luke took Jessie into the bathroom and handed her some tissue.  "Now go get your pajamas on."

Jessie headed for her room where she closed the door behind her.

Luke and Lorelai faced each other uneasily.  Before them sat the living room which consisted of a couch, a coffee table and a TV.  Lorelai wet her lips and Luke watched, his hands hanging at his sides.  "Can I get you some water?"

"No thanks," she answered a little shyly.

Luckily, the door to Jessie's room opened with a bang just then, announcing her return.  "I'm back!" she needlessly announced.

"We could tell," Luke replied wryly.

Jessie fixed him with a look and headed at top speed for the couch where she jumped the arm and landed in the center with a loud grunt.  "Hey!" Luke scolded as he and Lorelai followed her.  Jessie ignored him and they all sat down with Luke on one end, Jessie in the middle, and Lorelai on the other end.  Luke pulled the afghan down from the back and draped it over Jessie as she made her claim to the remote.  "Lorelai likes the Girls," she told her uncle importantly.  

"It doesn't matter how many people you tell me like them," he reminded her.  "I will _never_ like them."  As he spoke, Luke noted that her nose had not stopped running.  Please don't get sick, he thought.

Without bothering to answer, Jessie simply shushed him and focused on the TV.  As the minutes slipped by Luke felt her head getting heavier and heavier against his arm until after about twenty minutes he looked down and she was out cold, the remote hanging lifeless in her hand.  Gently, he took the remote and handed it to Lorelai who smiled and watched him pick Jessie up and carry her to bed.

When he came back out and sat down beside her, Lorelai felt her mouth go dry.  The sun had long ago set and Luke's small apartment was lit only with a few well-placed lamps.  They each looked at each other nervously.  They didn't have the luxury of being a little drunk tonight, but they were still unable to keep their eyes off of each other.

Finally, Lorelai laughed, shook her head, and said while she stared at her hands, "God, this is stupid."  Glancing up quickly, she took in his taken aback expression and quickly clarified.  "Not this, _this_.  I mean, we've known each other for _years_.  It's stupid that we feel so weird right now.  This should be easy, right?"

Luke nodded and said, "Yeah," before pulling her towards himself and crushing her mouth under his.  Lorelai scooted closer and closed her eyes.  The sensation of his lips against hers was exhilarating.  She ran her hands up his chest to his collar and around his neck where she pulled him even closer.

Pulling back briefly, Lorelai noted throatily, "Nice ice-breaker."  Luke pulled her back, though, and sifted one hand through her dark hair.

Lorelai's fingers, too, were busy as they worked on the buttons of his plaid shirt.  When she had finally opened them all, she pushed the shirt over his shoulders and let her hands roam about his chest.  Finding his nipple through the thin fabric of his t-shirt, she scraped her fingernail across its surface and smiled with satisfaction at his sharp inhalation.  Exploring further, she took it between her thumb and forefinger and squeezed a little, only to be rewarded by a soft growl and a quick hand finding hers and pulling it away.  Sitting on his lap the way she was, Lorelai took full advantage of her position as she wriggled her bottom against him.  

Groaning quietly, Luke let his hands roam under her soft tank top.  The skin was just as smooth as he remembered and he felt his body respond painfully at the sensation.  Lorelai mouth slanted over his and he felt her trace his lips with her tongue.  Stifling a moan, he moved upward under her tank top until the tips of his fingers brushed against the undersides of her breasts.  Moving even farther up cupped her left breast and gently tested its weight in his hand.  Lorelai's breathing became hurried and shallow as she continued to kiss him hungrily.  Luke took this as encouragement and brushed him thumb across her rigid nipple.  "Oh, God," she murmured with her eyes closed and her forehead pressed against his.  "Luke, can we do this?"

"For a little while longer," was his whispered reply.

Pulling back, Lorelai stared at him in confusion.  "What?" she asked.

"Well," he began, feeling awkward, "I don't know if you remember, but I don't have an actual room."

Dazed, Lorelai looked around at the tiny apartment and began to see the logistical difficulties.  Sidling off his lap, she gave a half smile.  The heat of the moment was gone, replaced with a stifling need to finish what they'd started.  She stared at his lips and wished she could pounce on him.  "This sucks," she sighed. 

Luke nodded. "I know."

Glancing sideways at him, Lorelai hazarded a supposition, "We can still make out for a while, though, right?"

"As long as we're quiet," he answered as he pulled her back onto his lap.

Feeling like teenagers, they necked for another forty-five minutes or so and then Lorelai went home.  She didn't want to oversleep again.  As Luke kissed her goodbye at the diner door, they each were lost in the heady thrill of each other and the newness of their relationship. 

"Bye," Lorelai whispered, smiling stupidly at him.

"Bye," he answered wearing the same expression.


	19. Chapter Nineteen

Disclaimer:  I don't own anything but the storyline and Jessie.

A/N:  See Chapter One for full premise.  To sum up, this is an AU (Alternate Universe) in which Jess Mariano never existed.  In his place, Jessie Danes, daughter of Liz, has come to live with her Uncle Luke for the summer.  

This has been a really crazy week for me work-wise.  I meant to have this up much sooner than this.  Also, for some reason, there was no author alert for the last chapter and that was irritating.  I hope everyone who wants to is able to read this.

Thank you to all the reviewers.  You have no idea who gratifying it is to read all your thoughts and opinions.  A special thanks goes out to Lindsay for letting me bounce all my crazy ideas off of her.  And another big thanks goes out to my beta-reader and friend, Sarah, for taking the time to read these chapters and make them as good as they can be.

July:  Cowboys and Ballerinas

Chapter Nineteen

~~

Later that night Jessie woke Luke out of a dead sleep by standing near his head and sneezing loudly.  Jerking awake, Luke shouted, "Jesus!  What are you doing?"

"I think I'b sick," she explained morosely as she climbed into bed.

"I told you _not_ to get sick," Luke replied, too irritated to be reasonable.

Jessie settled in next to him and breathed loudly through her mouth.  "Make id stob."

"You can't just make it stop, Jess.  You have to let the cold run its course," he informed before heaving himself out of bed and stumbling to the bathroom hoping against hope there was something in there that he could give her.  Naturally, though, the Children's Tylenol fairy had not gotten to them yet.  Groggily, Luke stared at the half-empty bottle of Nyquil before dismissing the idea as a bad one.  

"Jess!" he called.

"Whaaa?" she yelled back from the bed.

"What does your mom give you when you get sick?"

"How should I 'dow?" she demanded crossly.

Luke was practically growling at this point as he stalked back toward her.  His flannel pajama bottoms hung low on his hips and the old t-shirt was threadbare and soft.  The perfect sleeping clothes, he'd always thought.  Now, though, he impatiently threw a sweatshirt over his head and sat down to fumble with socks and sneakers.

"Where are you going?" Jessie demanded pitifully.

"I don't have any cold medicine for you.  We gotta go get some," he told her.

She made an impatient noise and griped, "Bud I don' wadda go oud."

"We've got two choices," Luke said as he finished tying his shoes.  "We can stay here and you can feel sick for the rest of the night or we can go out, get you some medicine and you can sleep."

"_You_ go," Jessie ordered petulantly.

Exhausted, he said, "I'm not leaving you here alone in the middle of the night."  

"You're so bean!" she cried.  "Other kids my age get to stay hobe alone."

"We're _not_ having this argument," he told her with weary firmness.  "You don't have to get dressed, just put socks and shoes on and let's go.  There's a 24 hour drug store in Litchfield.  We can be there and back in an hour."

With a deep sigh that she hoped would convey her complete lack of agreement with this idea, Jessie lumbered out of bed in her pink jammies and slipped her feet into her flip-flops.  "Weady," she told him in a voice which she hoped would clearly show how put-upon she was.  

Luke led her downstairs and out to his truck where they got in and drove to Litchfield.  As he pulled open the door to the all-night drugstore, their faces bunched up and their eyes squinted at the harsh fluorescent lighting.

"Come on," Luke said, taking her by the hand.  As they walked toward the medicines, Jessie turned her head toward his arm and sneezed mightily.  "Good God!" he said, exasperated.  "Cover you nose!"

"You wan' be da sdeeze in by _hand_?" Jessie asked incredulously.

"Yes," he told her decisively.

Tugging her along behind him, Luke found his way to the cold medicines and after much deliberation and argument…

"What are your symptoms?"

"Huh?"

"Your symptoms, what's wrong with you?"

"My dose is stuffy and my throat is scratchy."

"Would you say your throat is more itchy or scratchy?"

"I don' 'dow!"

…Luke purchased three different brands and just hoped for the best.  

When they got back, Luke dragged a now sleepy Jessie back upstairs where he gave her some medicine and led her into the bathroom.  After closing the door, he turned the shower on hot and sat down on the closed toilet seat.  Jessie climbed into his lap where she leaned against him and closed her eyes.  Luke wrapped an arm around her and they sat quietly while the little room filled with steam.  Within ten minutes, Jessie could breathe again and she gratefully slid off his lap as he reached in and turned off the shower.  

They were hot, tired and cranky and as he tucked her back in, she grumpily demanded to sleep with him.

Luke sat on the edge of her bed and paused before saying gingerly, "You won't be able to sleep with me forever, Jess. You need to start thinking about sleeping in _here_ the whole night through."

Scowling again, she wriggled out of the covers and said with a pout, "Bud I don' _feel_ good and id's _scary_ in here."

"All right," Luke gave in.  He was such a pushover when it came to her.

The next morning Luke stayed upstairs to make sure Jessie's cold hadn't worsened.  By the end of the week she was back to normal.  Horseback riding at the inn and ballet classes occupied much of her time as usual, but on hot afternoons they headed down to the lake to cool off.   Sometimes Lorelai would play hooky from the inn and join them.  During the next couple of weeks Luke and Lorelai spent as much time together as possible, but anything overnight was out of the question as long as Jessie was staying above the diner with Luke and Rory was home for the summer.  

On the last Thursday of July, just as Luke and Lorelai were leaving the diner with Jessie to take her to ballet, Taylor cornered them with a stern, "I realize you two are joined at the hip these days but will you please remember to join us for the Picnic Parade this weekend?  We had a very sorry turnout last year and it reflects poorly on the entire town if we don't get at least eighty-five percent of town residents to participate."

Jessie stared up at Taylor fascinated with his two-tone hair.  As if hypnotized, she cocked her head to one side and said, "Jackson says that's a rug.  But it looks like fake hair."

Outraged, Taylor straightened his back and humphed away from the trio.  Lorelai tossed her head back and guffawed loudly as they left the diner and stood waiting for the light to change so they could cross the street.

Luke on the other hand bent down so that he could look Jessie in the eye and said, "That was very rude, Jess.  You should be more considerate when speaking with people.  There's no need to point out the obvious.  Especially if it might hurt someone's feelings."

"It's just Taylor," Lorelai pointed out reasonably. 

"Yeah, it's just Taylor," Jessie parroted.

"I don't care who it was," Luke argued firmly.  "It wasn't nice and there was no need for it." 

Jessie rolled her eyes and said a "Sor-_ry_."

The light changed and the three of them headed for Miss Patty's who smiled suggestively at Luke and Lorelai before herding Jessie into the studio with the other arriving dancers.

On their way back to the diner Luke was quiet while Lorelai chattered about the upcoming Picnic Parade.  "I can't believe Taylor is giving us crap!  Rory and I both attended last year's and I remember seeing you there, too.  What does he think?  Now that we're 'joined at the hip' we'll stop going to town functions?  He's such a tool!  I loved it when Jessie asked him about the toupee!"

"You shouldn't encourage her," Luke said quietly.

"What are you talking about?  I didn't say a word!"

"You laughed like a hyena," he pointed out.

"Are you calling me a filthy animal?" Lorelai asked indignantly.

"I'm just saying that she needs to learn better manners, especially when it comes to just saying what's in her head.  She needs to start self-monitoring.  If you laugh every time she says something inappropriate she'll keep saying inappropriate things."

"You're blowing this way out of proportion," she argued.

He stopped on the sidewalk and turned to her.  "That's not the point."

"Well, what's the point?"

"The point is that Jessie is my responsibility.  I wish you'd respect my decisions regarding her."

"I can't believe you're defending Taylor."

"You're not listening," Luke said impatiently.

"I'm hearing you say that I'm a bad influence."

Frustrated, Luke felt his voice rise as he argued, "That's _not_ what I'm saying.  All I want is for you to back me up when it comes to this stuff.  She can't be getting mixed signals.  When you laugh and I discipline it tells her that one of us is wrong."

"One of us _is_ wrong," she replied with her arms crossed over her chest.

"So _I'm_ wrong?  You think I should just let her go around insulting anyone she wants?  She won't get very far in life that way and she needs to know it.  Not everyone is perfect like Rory!" he finished with an impatient hand gesture.

"Whatever.  I'm gonna head home."

"I can't believe you!" he shouted.

"Me?  You're the one calling me a bad parent."

"And you're undermining my authority."

They were at a stalemate.  "I'll see you around," Lorelai said stubbornly.

"Fine," Luke agreed bitterly as he yanked the door open and stepped into the diner.  Everyone was staring and he realized that his patrons had heard every word.  "Eat!" he yelled before storming upstairs.


	20. Chapter Twenty

Disclaimer:  I don't own anything but the storyline and Jessie.

A/N:  See Chapter One for full premise.  To sum up, this is an AU (Alternate Universe) in which Jess Mariano never existed.  In his place, Jessie Danes, daughter of Liz, has come to live with her Uncle Luke for the summer.  

My beta-reader is on vacation so this is all me.  Please be gentle.  

Thank you to all the reviewers.  You have no idea who gratifying it is to read all your thoughts and opinions.  A special thanks goes out to Lindsay for letting me bounce all my crazy ideas off of her.  And another big thanks goes out to my beta-reader and friend, Sarah, for taking the time to read these chapters and make them as good as they can be.

July:  Cowboys and Ballerinas

Chapter Twenty

~~

Lorelai stormed through her front door and headed straight to the living room where she flopped into a chair and crossed her arms with an emphatic "Humph!"  On the couch, Rory looked up from her biography of Erasmus to frown and note, "You don't look happy."

"Luke is an ass," Lorelai informed her daughter matter-of-factly.

"This is news," Rory commented with interest as she set her book down.  "What happened?"

"He told me I was a bad parent."

"What?" Rory asked incredulously.

"He did," Lorelai insisted.  "Jessie made fun of Taylor, I laughed and then he told me I was a bad parent."

"But you're not Jessie's parent," Rory pointed out logically.

"That's not the point!  Are you even listening?"

Rory sighed.  "Yes, but what you're saying isn't making sense.  Why would Luke tell you you're a bad parent?"

"Because I laughed."

"When?"

"When Jessie made fun of Taylor."

"What did she say?"

"She told him it looked like fake hair."

Rory giggled and said, "It _does_ look like fake hair."

"_Thank_ you!  Funny!"  Lorelai felt vindicated.  "Of course, Taylor didn't think so."

"She said it in front of Taylor?"  All of a sudden Rory looked concerned.

"She was _talking_ to him.  Rory, you gotta keep up with stories."

"Hmmm."

"Hmmm?"

"Mom," Rory began carefully.

"Oh, no," Lorelai said quickly, standing up.  "You can't agree with Luke."

"I don't," Rory asserted.  "But I'm _still_ not clear on _why_ he called you a bad parent."

Lorelai sighed dramatically before saying with a huge eye-roll, "He thinks I _encouraged_ her."

"Did you?"

"No!  I laughed.  It was funny!"

"Was Taylor still there when you laughed?"

Lorelai hesitated and then allowed, "Maybe."

Rory heaved a sigh.  "Because if he was, then she might have garnered from your response that making fun of Taylor was okay and Luke might want her to _not_ make fun of Taylor or people in general."

"Why on _earth_ wouldn't he want _that_?"

"Who knows!  But he _is_ the decision maker in her life, right?  So if he thought you might have been encouraging her to do something he didn't want her to do, then…." Rory trailed off, hoping Lorelai would finish the thought.

Lorelai crossed her arms and kicked the couch.  After a moment, she pouted, "No more Yale for you."

Rory picked her book up again.  "Are you going to talk to him?"

"Eventually," Lorelai nodded, wishing _someone_ agreed with her.

~~

By the time Luke picked Jessie up from ballet he'd spent his anger on the dishes up in the apartment.  He was still baffled over their fight, though.  All he'd done was ask her not to egg Jessie on.  Was that really so horrible?  He stood on the steps of the studio and waited for his niece to make an appearance.  When she did he had to chuckle and he felt any remaining anger seep out of him.  She was in her black leotard and white tights, but instead of her ballet shoes, she wore her pink converse.  In her hands she clutched the ballet shoes as if they were gold and as she bounced down the steps her bun atop her head bounced along with her.  Her hair was very fine and it seemed that no amount of hairpins could keep curly tendrils from falling down to her shoulders.

Luke gave her a small smile along with a pair of raised eyebrows.  "Had fun?"

"Yes!" she crowed loudly as she returned his smile with a wide one of her own.  "We learned fourth and fifth positions today and did you know that you don't use third that much?  So they don't teach it?  Funny huh?  Why don't they just make that one fifth and then teach first, second, third, and fourth?  I asked Miss Patty and she told me that children should be seen and not heard.  What does that mean and why do they still have a third?"

Luke's eyes had glazed over by the time she'd ended her breathless chatter.  "You're asking the wrong guy on both counts," he said as he took her hand and led her down the steps to the sidewalk.

"But I wasn't counting and where's Lorelai?"  Jessie said distractedly as she looked around.

"Lorelai went home," Luke told her shortly.

"Why did she go home?  I thought she was staying for dinner and TV."

"Something came up and she had to go home."

"Can we go over there?"

"No."

"Why?" Jessie whined.

"Because whenever we go over there you eat like they eat and I don't like it."

"Humph!  You're so mean!"  Jessie stomped her foot as they reached the intersection they needed to cross.

"Yeah, yeah," Luke agreed feeling tired.  Then to change the subject he said, "So do you want to do anything special for your birthday?"

"My birthday?" she asked, a little confused over the quick change of subject.

"Yeah.  August 15th, right?  Two weeks away.  Anything special you want to do that day?"

Jessie stared into the distance for a minute as if thinking it over.  She'd never really had a birthday party before.  Something like that might be a lot of fun.  Maybe she could invite her ballet friends.  "Can we have a party?"

"Sure," Luke answered easily.

"Really?"

"Yup."

"Can I invite my ballet friends and have pizza for dinner and chocolate cake for dessert?"

Luke winced but nodded.  "It's your birthday," he told her firmly.

"And can we have it at Lorelai's so there's room for everyone and then after the party the four of us can watch a movie?"

"Lorelai's?" Luke argued.  "We can have it right in the diner."

"But it's a diner!" Jessie pointed out, perturbed.

"So?"

"So I want to have my party at a _house_."

Luke sighed.  "Why?" he asked impatiently.

"Because other kids have their birthday parties at their houses!"

"But Lorelai's isn't your house.  The diner is."

"The diner isn't a house at all!  It's a diner with a stupid apartment on top!"

"Well, until we _have_ a house it's all we got."

Jessie frowned and looked up at him.  "Are we getting a house?"

Impatient with the light, Luke led her over to a sidewalk bench.  "Sit down," he said with a sigh.

They sat.  "Jess, how would you feel about…" he hesitated and then just let it come out, "…staying here?"

"Staying here?" she repeated haltingly.

"Yeah.  After the summer ends, instead of going back to New York, you could stay here and go to school.  I have a house that I've been renting out.  The tenants are leaving soon, though, so we could move in and you could keep taking ballet and horseback riding…" Luke trailed off and immediately felt a little guilty for throwing the ballet and horses into the mix.  He was trying to get her to stay and he knew it.

"What about my mom?" Jessie asked uncertainly.

"It would only be if she agreed, too," Luke assured her.

"No, I mean, did she ask you to ask me?" she wondered warily.

"No," he answered quickly, not wanting to give her the wrong idea.  "I haven't talked to her about it yet.  I wanted to see if you would be interested in staying first.  If you aren't, then there's no need to talk to her about it.  And you don't have to answer now.  Think about it, okay?"

"Okay," she said slowly as she nodded and then stood up.  

They crossed the street and went into the diner each quietly lost in their own thoughts.

~~

Luke and Jessie didn't talk about her party or her moving to Stars Hollow for the rest of the day.  Luke remained characteristically quiet, but Jessie suspected that there was more going on than he'd told her and she further suspected that it had to do with Lorelai going home.  During the dinner rush, Jessie sat on her stool at the end of the counter and tried to force down the baked chicken and steamed vegetables.  Just as she was about to start hiding pieces of chicken in the napkin dispenser, someone tapped her on the shoulder.

She turned and smiled wide when she saw Lorelai and Rory.  "Hey!" she beamed at them.

"Hi, Jess," Lorelai said returning the smile.  

"How's it going?" asked Rory as they took seats beside Jessie.  

"Good!  I get to have a birthday party next month!" she announced with glee.

Luke joined them just then and said stiffly, "What can I get you?" 

"Luke can I talk to you for a sec?" Lorelai ventured.

Looking up from the order pad, Luke seemed a little skeptical as he nodded and motioned for her to join him behind the curtain.  Lorelai stood up and followed him up the stairs to the apartment.  Rory and Jessie exchanged looks as the two adults left.  "Wanna help me hide this?" Jessie asked after a beat.

Once inside the apartment, Luke stood with his arms crossed over his chest and a look of pure dread on his face.

"I just wanted to apologize," Lorelai began slowly.  "I'm sorry if you thought I was…encouraging Jessie.  You _are_ her guardian and I should  respect your wishes when it comes to her.  If anyone had tried to tell me how to raise Rory I would have ripped their head off.  I'm just…I'm sorry," she finished quickly.

Luke nodded and brought his arms down to his sides.  "It's okay," he told her softly.  "I probably over-reacted."

"Can we just forget it?" she asked as she stepped closer to him.

"Yeah," he said and lifted his hands to settle affectionately on her shoulders.  Pulling her close, Luke wrapped his arms around her and felt her arms slide around his waist.  She smelled so good…the scent of those damn flowers filled his head.

With her head tucked under his chin, Lorelai commented, "Let's not fight again, okay?"

"Okay," Luke agreed, his eyes closed so as to absorb as much of her scent as possible.    

After a moment spent just holding each other, Lorelai pulled back and said with a slight smile, "So Jess tells us she's having a birthday party.  Since when do you play host to a bunch of little girls?"

"Yeah," he answered distractedly.  "I wanted to talk to you about that.  She wants to have it at your house.  Apparently, all her friends have their parties at _houses _not_ diners_," he finished irritably.

"Of course she can have it at our house," Lorelai agreed immediately.  "Just tell me the date."

Luke nodded and looked away, his shoulders tight.  "Is that all that's going on?" she probed.

With a quick shake of his head, Luke looked back at her and said grimly, "I asked her about staying and she hasn't said anything yet."

Silently, Lorelai studied him as she tenderly rubbed one hand on his arm.  "Maybe she needs time to think.  It's a big decision for an eight-year-old."

"You're probably right," he said with a quick nod.  The look on his face told her he was still worried about it, though, and she took his hand in hers and squeezed.  "Whatever happens, I'll be here, okay?"

Luke took in her calm features and saw nothing but support and love.  He gave her a small smile and said, "Okay."


	21. Chapter Twentyone

Disclaimer: I don't own anything but the storyline and Jessie.

A/N: See Chapter One for full premise. To sum up, this is an AU (Alternate Universe) in which Jess Mariano never existed. In his place, Jessie Danes, daughter of Liz, has come to live with her Uncle Luke for the summer.

My beta-reader is still on vacation so this is all me. Please be gentle.

Thank you to all the reviewers. You have no idea who gratifying it is to read all your thoughts and opinions. A special thanks goes out to Lindsay for letting me bounce all my crazy ideas off of her. And another big thanks goes out to my beta-reader and friend, Sarah, for taking the time to read these chapters and make them as good as they can be.

As of 1-21-5 this chapter has been adjusted slightly for grammar.

August: Goodbyes and Hellos

Chapter Twenty-one

xoxox

Jessie awoke on the morning of her ninth birthday in her own bed and shouted to the room at large, "I'm nine today!" Out in the kitchen, Luke, who'd been having some tea, heard her and smiled to himself. She hadn't mentioned staying in Stars Hollow since he'd broached the subject but he had to admit that she really seemed to be enjoying herself. She'd been exceedingly demanding in planning the party they were throwing later that day and he took that as a good sign.

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of her door banging open followed by her running from her room to his lap shouting "I'm nine today! I'm nine today! I'm nine today!" Landing on him with a loud grunt, Jessie clambered into his lap and said, "I'm nine today!"

Luke took in her rumpled pink pajamas and tangled hair. "So I heard," he replied, trying for grumpy and missing by a mile.

"And I slept in my own bed all night," she announced proudly, helping herself to a sip of his tea.

"So I noticed," he said, in the same tone, making a grab for his drink.

"Because I'm a big girl now. And big girls sleep in their own beds." Her delivery was so solemn that Luke almost laughed.

"You're right," he told her, "they do."

"So can I opened my presents now?"

Pretending to be shocked, Luke said, "Of course not! The party doesn't start for hours. You have to wait like the everybody else."

"I mean _your_ presents," she clarified.

"How do you know I got you anything?" he asked innocently.

"Because if you didn't I'd beat you up!" she declared.

"Ohh, I'm scared," he threw back.

"Grrr!" she added lifting her fists and twisting to face him while trying not to giggle.

"Oh, no!" he shouted, tickling her. "What shall I do?"

Shrieking with delight, Jessie wriggled off his lap and collapsed on the floor in an effort to get away from his tickling fingers. "Stop!" she cried, her face red from laughter.

Luke peered under the table from his chair and said, "Why don't you get dressed so we can go over to Lorelai's and help her finish decorating."

"Okay!" Jessie shouted. She jumped up from the floor, just barely missing knocking her head on the table and ran to her room shouting "I'm nine today! I'm nine today! I'm nine today!" Her door banged shut and Luke couldn't help but laugh out loud then.

Later, after she'd donned a new yellow daisy sundress they'd gotten just for the occasion and eaten a fast breakfast, she and Luke, who'd taken the day off from the diner, left and headed for Lorelai's. At the intersection Luke took her hand to cross the street but she shook it off and said importantly, "Big girls don't hold hands to cross streets."

"Is that so?" he demanded.

Lifting her nose in the air, Jessie nodded and said, "Yes."

"Some big girls probably do," he argued.

"No. Big girls don't hold hands. Only little girls."

Luke sighed. She was testing her own abilities as much as she was testing him, he knew, but it still…hurt a little. Another few years and she wouldn't need him at all. That is, if she decided to stay. "Okay," he agreed hesitantly.

Jessie looked like she'd expected a bigger fight but didn't say anything. Instead, she focused her attention on the traffic light and waited for it to change. When it did, she looked both ways and confidently stepped off the curb. Luke walked beside her, holding his breath the entire way across the street.

Once across, he let his breath out and they walked the rest of the way to Lorelai's with Jessie chattering away about who was coming and what games they would play.

They spent the morning with last-minute preparations. The theme was Powerpuff Girls and Lorelai had decked the house out in party streamers, tablecloths, plates, cups, napkins, and more paraphernalia than Luke thought possible.

The day was perfect: blue sky, no clouds and lots of sun. Rory and Jessie stood in the backyard securing a large paper donkey to a tree for Pin the Tail on the Donkey. From the kitchen, Luke leaned against the sink and watched, the merest hint of a smile playing at his lips. Lorelai came up behind him and wrapped her arms around his torso and leaned her face against his back. "Whatcha doing?"

"Watching the girls," he answered softly, settling on hand onto her arms.

"Jess is gonna have a great day," Lorelai assured him.

"You think?" he asked, watching his niece turn cartwheels in the yard. He made a mental note to speak to her later about cartwheels and their tendency to display underwear if not preformed while wearing pants.

"Just wait," she assured him. "Rory and I have taken care of everything."

"Thanks," he said, shifting so that he could turn around. "I couldn't have done a party for her without you."

Lorelai smiled and shook her head. "We're more than happy to help," she insisted before leaning in to brush her lips against his.

Their kiss turned heated after a moment and when they eventually pulled away it was with regret. The party would be starting soon and there was no point in starting something they couldn't finish. Reluctantly, they finished getting ready and at about noon the doorbell rang. Jessie ran from the kitchen to the front door at full speed all the while shouting, "I'll get it! I'll get it! I'll get it!"

One by one her friends from ballet arrived and not long afterward Sookie came by with Jackson, Davey and a cake in tow. The cake was something Sookie had been working on for a week. It featured the Powerpuff Girls but in tutus and up on a stage.

Lorelai made everyone put on a Powerpuff Girls party hat, including Luke who sighed and slipped it on over his backwards baseball cap. The sight of the rubber chinstrap on him was almost enough to make Lorelai fall over with laughter, but she held it together pretty well. After the girls finished playing Pin the Tail on the Donkey, Lorelai led all eight into the kitchen where Sookie had set up the table for them to make individual pizzas. As the girls created their lunches there was much giggling, fussing, eating and teasing. Luke hung back as much as possible as he felt completely inept at dealing all the little females.

Once the pizzas went into the ovens Lorelai announced, "Water balloon fight!"

All eight girls plus Rory and Lorelai ran screaming outside where Jackson had filled an old washtub with water balloons. Luke watched while, screeching with joy, the girls pummeled each other with the balloons.

When they'd exhausted their supply and their energy, the girls filed back into the kitchen, wet and muddy, to discover that their pizzas were ready. Silence fell as the hungry girls gorged themselves. As they ate Sookie and Lorelai stuck nine candles into the birthday cake and just as they finished the pizzas, they lit the candles and carried the cake over. Everybody sang as Lorelai put a silver paper tiara on Jessie's head.

When the singing ended and it came time for her to make a wish and blow out the candles Jessie looked up at the ceiling as if trying to decide what she should wish for. Luke gazed at her and knew what he was wishing for. Finally, Jessie looked down and caught his eyes as she went to blow her candles out. She smiled at him in sheer happiness. A moment later, the candles were out and Sookie was cutting the cake.

"Uncle Luke," Jessie called from her position at the head of the table.

"What?" he asked, arms crossed over his chest, still trying to play grumpy.

"Come here and have some cake."

Luke rolled his eyes and shook his head but walked over and pulled up a chair. "I don't want any cake," he told her.

Sookie put a plate full of chocolate cake in front of her and Jessie heaved a portion onto her fork. Bringing the fork up to him she said, "Just have a taste."

"All right, but just a taste," he agreed. As he opened his mouth, Luke saw her eyes shift from innocent to evil as she skipped his lips altogether and smushed the cake onto his nose and cheek. Crowing with laughter, Jessie put her fork down and quickly pressed her hand into the cake still adorning her uncle's face.

"Cake face!" she shouted.

"Why you little," Luke replied making to tickle her again. She squealed and jumped off the chair to run into the living room and he jumped up, too, but only made it to the sink where Lorelai laughed and handed him a towel. "It's okay, Jess!" Lorelai yelled. "You can come back!"

Luke cleaned his face and shook his head. "I'm never falling for that one again."

"Once was enough," Lorelai smiled.

"You had something to do with it?" Luke questioned, one eyebrow lifted.

"Maybe," she shrugged.

"I'll get you later," he promised.

"I hope so," she replied in a low voice.

Once everyone had gotten a piece of cake Jessie opened her presents and was delighted with everything. After another hour the girls were coming down off their sugar high the mothers started picking them up. By three Sookie, Jackson and Davey were gone and that left the four of them. Unfortunately, Jessie's dress was still wet from the water balloons and she was starting to shiver a little. Unwilling to allow her to get sick again, Luke quickly decided to go to the apartment and get her a change of clothes while the girls hung out.

"Why don't I go with you?" Lorelai suggested. "I could use a walk."

They agreed that Jessie could stay with Rory while Lorelai walked with Luke back to the apartment for a change of clothes for Jessie. As they walked across town Luke took her hand in his and squeezed. She smiled affectionately and squeezed back. Once in the apartment, Luke went into Jessie's room and found shorts and a t-shirt for her. As he came back out into the main room Lorelai sidled up to him and said, "We don't have to hurry back, do we?"

He kissed her then. Pressing against her, he let all his desires come to the surface and she felt it and responded.

"I gotta be honest with you." She said in between kisses.

"Yeah?" he asked, completely distracted by her tongue.

"This is the most sexually frustrating relationship I've ever had."

She pushed him down onto the bed, intoxicated with the knowledge that they were completely alone. Joining him, she quickly doffed her tank top and he gazed up at her from his back a little overcome.

Without giving him time to comment on her state of undress she pushed his t-shirt up and began to explore the skin she found underneath. Luke's eyes rolled back into his head as he gasped with pleasure. Without giving him time to get used to the fact that her teeth were actually nipping at him, she went from one side to the other and he again gasped as the sensitive skin allowed for her assault.

Suddenly impatient with her position of power he quickly regained his head and shifted his weight so that he could roll them over. Now on top, he pressed his lips to her throat and gently tasted the sweat that had gathered there. With his hands he explored her fragrant skin and delighted in her soft, slow moans.

"Please," she said. "Please, I need you."

Luke thought he'd die from the pleasure of hearing those words, but instead he simply gave in and when it was all over they lay tangled in the blankets, gasping for air, exhausted but exhilarated.

Lorelai lay with her back to him and he stroked her arm and in a state of half-consciousness nibbled at her neck. With a smile she rolled over and kissed his jaw. "I love you, Luke Danes," she murmured.

He smiled with his eyes closed and said, "All the ladies do."

With a sly chuckle, she told him firmly, "No more ladies. Just me."

"No one ever said you were a lady."

She poked him in the ribs and growled, "Excuse me?"

He grunted and laughed at her poking as he opened his eyes and took in her tousled hair and rosy cheeks. "I said I love you, too."

"That's what I _thought_," she said, satisfied with his answer.


	22. Chapter Twenty two

Disclaimer: I don't own anything but the storyline and Jessie.

A/N: See Chapter One for full premise. To sum up, this is an AU (Alternate Universe) in which Jess Mariano never existed. In his place, Jessie Danes, daughter of Liz, has come to live with her Uncle Luke for the summer.

Thank you to all the reviewers. You have no idea who gratifying it is to read all your thoughts and opinions. A special thanks goes out to Lindsay for letting me bounce all my crazy ideas off of her. And another big thanks goes out to my beta-reader and friend, Sarah, for taking the time to read these chapters and make them as good as they can be.

August: Goodbyes and Hellos

Chapter Twenty-two

By the time they got back to the house, Luke was feeling more than a little guilty. He'd just left his niece's birthday party so that he could bang his girlfriend. Not exactly Parent of the Year material. On the other hand, her own mother hadn't even called yet to wish her a happy birthday, so he figured he probably wasn't going to hell just yet.

Luke and Lorelai entered the house to find Rory and Jessie slumped on the couch with their feet on the coffee table watching _The_ _Goonies_. They each had huge plates of half-eaten cake on their stomachs.

"What took you so long?" Jessie demanded without taking her eyes off the TV.

"What are you eating?" Luke countered.

"It's my birthday," she told him airily. "I can eat whatever I want."

"Not so," he replied, removing the plate of cake from her stomach. "Here's the change of clothes, go get out of the wet dress."

Jessie tore her eyes away from the TV and took the clothes from him. Once she left, Luke headed for the kitchen and Rory gave her mother a look.

"What?" Lorelai asked innocently.

"Don't _what_ me," Rory told her with one eyebrow arched. "You were gone an awfully long time just for a change of clothes."

"Do you want details or just an admission?"

"Ew, neither! And let's never talk about this again."

"Done," Lorelai agreed.

When Jessie came out of Rory's bedroom in her dry shorts and t-shirt, she found her uncle Luke at the sink in full clean-up mode. He and Lorelai had been gone a while and she thought she knew why. Angling onto a chair, she sat at the table, folded her hands and tried to prepare herself. The spread of wrapping paper and gifts still lay out before her but that's not what she was thinking about.

"Uncle Luke?" she asked hesitantly.

"Uh huh?" he replied, not looking up from the pizza pans he was scrubbing.

"Does Mom know we're here today?"

Luke looked up at her and tried to read her expression. All he saw was wary hopefulness mixed with an attempt at nonchalance. Turning off the water, Luke moved across the room and sat beside her. "I…I don't think so, Jess," he replied gently.

"Oh," she said, sagging a little. "I thought maybe she called when you were at the apartment."

Wrinkling his eyebrows, Luke asked, "Why?"

"You were gone a long time," she pointed out with a frown.

"Oh, well, I –" Luke began, completely unsure of how to address that.

"Do you think she left a message on the machine?" Jessie interrupted, again looking hopeful.

"We can see when we go home but I didn't notice one just now," he told her quietly. He put his hand on the table palm up and she put hers on top of it palm down. "If there's not we can call her," he offered, hating himself. The last thing he wanted to do was give Liz another opportunity to hurt Jessie, but he felt like he should give Jessie every opportunity to be in touch with her mother if that's what she wanted.

With a quick shake of her head, though, Jessie said, "No." Then, "Uncle Luke?"

"Mm hmm?"

Jessie shifted uncomfortably and looked out the window. "If I stay here and we move into a house what will happen if you marry Lorelai?"

"I…what do you mean? I don't understand."

"I mean…will I have to go back to New York?" she asked miserably, unable to look at him.

"No," he said quickly and firmly. "If you choose to stay then you stay for good. But, Jess, don't make this decision if you're mad at your mom."

"I'm not mad at her anymore," she told him with another frown. She twisted her hand in his and confessed, "It makes me sad that she doesn't want me but I'm not mad."

Luke stared at her, trying to comprehend the fact that a nine-year-old was able to have this conversation. "You're not?"

"No. Rory and I were talking."

"About what?"

"About moms. Single moms," she clarified as she pulled her hand away. Again she shifted awkwardly in her chair. It was embarrassing to have a mom like hers. She'd meant what she'd said about not being mad, but it still hurt her feelings that her own mother didn't seem to care about her. Fortunately, there was someone in her life now who _did_ care. Lots of someones, actually, but one important someone.

"What about single moms?" Luke prompted, leaving his hand on the table in case she needed it.

"Single moms have it hard because there's no dad to help," she explained. "And some moms are better than others." Luke listened quietly, still not believing what he was hearing. She sounded like an adult, for heaven's sake, but that was probably Rory's influence.

"That's true," he told her carefully. "Some moms are better than others."

"And without dads to help, the moms who aren't as good sometimes just can't do it all," Jessie continued, wrinkling her forehead in concentration.

Luke shook his head and interrupted, "Jess, I don't want you to make up excuses for your mom. You were never 'too much' for her. She _chose_ not to…" he groped for the right words, "…put you first. Understand?"

Jessie nodded, uncertain but wanting to believe him. "Look," he continued. "Your mom wasn't ready to be a mom. Heck, she's still not ready to be a mom. It didn't have anything to do with _you_."

"Okay," she said. And then, "I want to stay."

Luke let out the breath he'd been holding for two weeks. Jessie wrapped her hand around his thumb and said, "Can we get a dog?"

With a soft laugh, Luke squeezed her hand and replied, "We'll see."


	23. Chapter Twenty three

Disclaimer: I don't own anything but the storyline and Jessie.

A/N: See Chapter One for full premise. To sum up, this is an AU (Alternate Universe) in which Jess Mariano never existed. In his place, Jessie Danes, daughter of Liz, has come to live with her Uncle Luke for the summer.

Thank you to all the reviewers. You have no idea who gratifying it is to read all your thoughts and opinions. A special thanks goes out to Lindsay for letting me bounce all my crazy ideas off of her. And another big thanks goes out to my beta-reader and friend, Sarah, for taking the time to read these chapters and make them as good as they can be.

August: Goodbyes and Hellos

Chapter Twenty-three

A week later, Luke nervously chewed his bottom lip as he dialed the familiar numbers. It was a Thursday and he'd just dropped Jessie off at her ballet class. Lorelai was at the Dragonfly and Rory was in New Haven looking for an apartment with Paris. They all had plans to meet up for dinner later.

As the phone rang in his ear Luke surveyed the apartment. Everything was in disarray. Boxes half-full of junk littered the floor, drawers hung open, and the kitchen cabinets were practically bare.

The old tenants were gone and Jessie and Luke were moving into their house slowly but surely. It wasn't a big house but it was a darn site bigger than their apartment. Not only did Jessie have a room with windows and a closet, but for the first time in almost two decades, so did Luke.

And not only did they get their own rooms, but they had a living room and kitchen with a swinging door that opened into the dining room. This swing-door was by far Jessie's favorite thing about the house. It was all she could talk about for the first half hour after seeing it.

He smiled remembering and just as Luke was about to give up on the phone call, Liz answered. "Hello," she said brusquely.

"Liz, it's me."

"Luke?"

"Yes, Luke, who else?" he asked impatiently.

"Sorry," she replied tonelessly. He could practically hear her rolling her eyes.

"So how's it going?"

"Fine," she replied sounding bored.

"The end of the summer's coming," he commented.

"Yeah, about that," she began. Luke closed his eyes, feeling his blood pressure spike.

"Uh huh?" he replied trying to maintain his calm.

"How do you feel about maybe keeping her for a little longer? Just until school starts?"

"That's actually why I'm calling. She's doing really well, Liz. She's horseback riding and taking ballet lessons and she's been meeting some kids her own age. In fact, she invited some of them to her _birthday_ party last week."

"Oh, Christ! I knew I forgot something. Now you're gonna tell me I'm a terrible mother, right?" she spat.

Again Luke felt his blood pressure go up. "This isn't about you!" he shouted. Immediately, he regretted yelling and said, "Look. The point is that Jess is happy. I think she wants to stay."

Liz got quiet on the other end of the phone. "Really?"

"Where do you get off sounding hurt? You know, the last time you talked to her she cried for almost twenty minutes!" Luke forced himself to calm down. "Liz, listen to me. She's happy here and she wants to stay and I want her to stay."

"Fine!" Liz snapped. "Keep her! See if I care. This has been the best summer since before she came along."

"What is the _matter_ with you?" Luke wondered aloud.

"Me? You just told me that she doesn't want to live with her own mother!"

"Yeah, because you sent her away. Your actions have given her the impression that _you don't_ _want_ _her_!"

Liz snorted into the phone, "Well, Jesus, who knew it'd be so hard?"

"Look, it's very simple," Luke said, at the end of his rope. "You give me permission to enroll her into Stars Hollow Public School and we'll take it from there."

"Done," she bit out.

"Fine. I'll send you whatever paperwork there is," Luke said dully.

"Fine," she replied.

"Liz, if this works and she's happy here in the school system I want to talk to you about getting full custody." Luke's voice sounded more steadfast than Liz had ever heard it and again there was silence on her end.

"Are you serious?" she whispered.

"Very," he answered in a tone that matched hers.

"But Luke she's my _kid_," Liz argued.

"Whom you lied to about how long of a trip this would be!" countered Luke. Bringing his voice back down, he said, "Come on, Liz. Be realistic and just think it over. I'll be in touch."

Without another word, Luke hung up the phone and leaned back into the couch with his eyes closed.

By Sunday all the big stuff was moved in and the little stuff like boxes of clothes and kitchen paraphernalia rested in hallways and closets. Earlier, Jessie had run through the house shouting, "Hello, house!" Now, Luke, Lorelai, Rory and Jessie sat in the living room and ate pizza out of the box as they rested after hauling stuff around all day.

"Quickest move ever," Lorelai commented.

"It's a fast move when you've got next to nothing," Luke replied.

Jessie giggled. "We got more than nothing."

"_We've_ got more than nothing and it's just an expression," Luke told her as he wiped some sauce off her chin. "Good thing you're starting school next week."

Jessie rolled her eyes and said, "Blech! I hate school."

"How is it _possible_ for anyone to hate school?" Rory wondered, one hand pressed to her collarbone as if in shock.

Jessie stretched out on the floor, wiggled her ankles so that her pink Converse flopped around and said, "I don't know but I'm full." As she spoke she pressed her belly up to the sky, opened her arms and grunted.

"What are you doing?" Lorelai asked, smiling.

"I'm a pig," Jessie said with another grunt.

"Come again?" Luke laughed.

"Like Wilbur in _Charlotte's Web_. I'm full so now I lay on my back and roll in the mud." She gave another grunt and then an oink.

"We don't have any mud, though," Rory pointed out.

"It's _pretend_ mud," Jessie explained patiently before oinking loudly.

"Well, that's too bad," Luke commented sounding sad.

"Whyt?" Lorelai asked.

"Pigs don't get ice cream, so I guess it's just the three of us who'll be enjoying it."

"What?! No, I'm a girl, I'm a girl!" Jessie shouted sitting up and putting her face in his.

"Are you sure? Because you were giving a very convincing performance a second ago."

"I'm sure!" she shouted before jumping once to illustrate the point.

Later, after Jessie was tucked into bed and Rory had gone home, Luke and Lorelai sat on the couch, tired from the day. "I got the paperwork back from Liz," he said after a moment of silence.

Lorelai turned to him with a concerned look. "Really? That was fast."

"I know. I wasn't sure it was really going to happen."

"So Jess is all set, then," she smiled.

"Looks that way."

Lorelai snuggled into his side and said softly, "I'm so glad Liz isn't making this difficult for you."

"Me, too," Luke confessed. "She even stuck a little note in there about discussing a custody arrangement."

"Really?" Lorelai looked aghast. "I just can't believe that. How could she not…." Lorelai was unable to finish the sentence.

"I don't know," Luke said bitterly. "But it was just a note. Maybe she'll change her mind at some point and really make my life miserable."

"I hope not. For both your sakes."

"Thanks." Luke wrapped an around her shoulders.

Lorelai watched at him thoughtfully. "So you're definitely going to pursue it."

"Custody of Jess? Absolutely. Why?" he suddenly sounded unsure of himself.

"I just want to know."

"Yeah. Even if it means getting a lawyer."

Lorelai nodded as if thinking something over. Before she could speak, though, Luke said, "Are you having second thoughts? About…us?"

Smiling, Lorelai touched his hand and said, "Of course not. I just don't want you to feel overwhelmed. You've been an amazing uncle to her and if you get custody you'll be an amazing parent. Being a single parent is hard, though, and I just want to make sure that what you and I have isn't going to impede on what you and she have. She should come first in your life, you know? Just like Rory always came first in my life."

"I know what you mean," Luke told her. "But I feel like we're already almost a family. There're just a couple of legal documents separating us."

"Oh, yeah? Like what documents?"

"Well," he said casually, "a marriage license for one thing."

Lorelai paused and tilted her head to one side as her lips curved upward. "Luke, are you proposing?"

Luke smiled and then allowed, "Maybe."

A/N: One chapter to go!


	24. Chapter Twenty four

Disclaimer:  I don't own anything but the storyline and Jessie.

A/N:  See Chapter One for full premise.  To sum up, this is an AU (Alternate Universe) in which Jess Mariano never existed.  In his place, Jessie Danes, daughter of Liz, has come to live with her Uncle Luke for the summer. 

Thank you to all the reviewers.  You have no idea who gratifying it is to read all your thoughts and opinions.  A special thanks goes out to Lindsay for letting me bounce all my crazy ideas off of her.  And another big thanks goes out to my beta-reader and friend, Sarah, for taking the time to read these chapters and make them as good as they can be.

This is IT.  I can't believe I made it to 24 chapters with this story.  It was a heck of a ride and I'm sad for it to end, but all things must so here it is.  Perhaps at some point there'll be a sequel. 

August:  Goodbyes and Hellos

Epilogue:

To everyone's surprise Liz took her brother's advice and really thought about what would be best for her daughter, but Luke ended up hiring a lawyer anyway to legally file the paperwork.  Jessie continued to ride horses at the Dragonfly and even moved into the intermediate ballet class in the fall.  By Thanksgiving she had performed in her first recital and Luke purchased a ridiculously priced camcorder just for the occasion. 

At Christmas Luke was finally awarded full custody of Jessie and they went out to dinner to celebrate just the two of them.  After they'd ordered Jessie wiggled in her seat and said, "Did you get it?"

Nodding, Luke pulled out a small black box and pushed it across the table.  Jessie opened it and looked inside. 

"Will I have to call her 'mom'?"

"No.  You can call her whatever you want," Luke told her folding his hands on the table.

Jessie smiled again and said, "Are you nervous?"

Luke frowned and said as he pulled the ring box back, "I wasn't until just now."

"I think you should take her to a fancy restaurant, let her order anything she wants, and then put the ring in a pretty dessert.  Lorelai loves dessert and there's less of a chance that she'll say no if you give it to her with dessert."

Luke blinked.  "You think she'll say no?"

"Look what happened with Max," Jessie pointed out with infuriating calm.

"You weren't around for Max," Luke countered, flabbergasted.

"Miss Patty told me about it," she said airily.

"All right, fine, I'll give you that one," he conceded.  "But do you really think she'll say no?"

Jessie regarded him thoughtfully for a moment and then said, "No.  She _like_-likes you.  I think she'll say yes.  But if you want I can ask her for you."

Terrified, Luke almost shouted, "No, don't say anything to her."

Jessie lifted her hands, palms outward and said, "Touchy, touchy."

Later that night, after Luke and Jessie got home, Lorelai came over to help them finish celebrating.  Rory was finishing up her last final at Yale and so it was just the three of them. 

After polishing off half the pizza she'd brought with her, Lorelai excused herself to go to the bathroom. 

"Uncle Luke," Jessie whispered.

Luke looked at her quizzically and said, "What?"

"You should do it now."

"What?  No, you said fancy restaurant."

"We've got ice cream here, we should do it now!"

"No," he said.  "No way.  You're crazy."

"Crazy like a fox!" she proclaimed.

"Do you repeat everything the Gilmores say?" he asked, exasperated.

"Of course," she told him impatiently.  Jumping up, she went to the kitchen cupboards, lifted herself onto the counter, opened a top cabinet and took out three bowls.  "Get out the ice cream!" she demanded. 

"This isn't a good idea, Jess.  How do you know she'll say yes and shouldn't it be just the two of us?"

Ignoring him for a second, Jessie went to the jacket he'd been wearing before and started rummaging through the pockets.  Finally, she found what she was looking for and turned to him  "Why?  Scoop!"

Luke obeyed, half wondering if she might be right.  He scooped three bowls of ice cream and watched as Jessie carefully stabbed the band of the diamond engagement ring into the soft ice cream of one bowl.  "This better work or you're grounded for the rest of your life."

Jessie smiled up at him in reply.  "Sit down," she told him "and when she comes in I'll bring her bowl over."

"How are you able to orchestrate all this?"

"I watch too much TV," she explained.

Luke rolled his eyes and sat just as Lorelai reemerged and took her place at the kitchen table next to him.  Luke and Jessie's discussion had ended abruptly when she'd reappeared and she noticed the awkward silence.  Jessie stood at the counter with her back to the grown ups and watched as the ice cream melted a little and the ring sank down a bit more.

"What's going on here?" Lorelai asked suspiciously.

"Nothing," Luke said, too quickly.

"Something," Lorelai argued.

"We're having ice cream," he told her.  Immediately, as he'd hoped, she was distracted. 

"I love ice cream.  Bring it on!"

Jessie turned and brought the bowl over then.  She stood between her uncle Luke and Lorelai as she set it down.  Lorelai eagerly looked into it, faltered a second and then looked up.  "What's going on?" she asked with a soft, slow smile.

"Will you marry us?" Jessie asked smiling broadly, playing the ham she was.

"That's my line," Luke chided her.

Lorelai laughed and grinned wide.  "Yes to both of you!" she said pulling Jessie and Luke both into a hug.  Luke wrapped his arms around his little family and closed his eyes.  It was more than he'd expected to have three months ago.  Three months ago his lonely future stretched out long in front of him and now…now he had this.  And this was good.  This was his family.

The End.


End file.
